The Tale of Team 17
by Danthemanwithaplan7
Summary: The ramifications of the actions of the Legendary Rokudaime Hokage continue to echo. They shall help to shape, and define the lives of three aspiring young ninja in Konoha as they attempt to make their dreams reality. Naruto Next Generation Naruhina baby
1. Prologue

I hope that all those who read this find enjoyment in doing so.

Dedicated to my best friend in the whole world. You know who you are, yes You out there.

Prologue

_Twelve years ago..._

The sunlight pierced the tightly drawn blinds to form neat parallel lines on the red ceramic floor of a private examination room in the Konohagakure no Sato Shinobi hospital. In the darkened room a woman with light blond hair tied into two neat pigtails in the back stood facing a series of charts hung upon the wall of the room. She stood in white sleeveless shirt tied at the waist by a deep blue waist cinch and matching blue pants. She tapped the heels of her high heeled shoes against the floor in a revealing show of discomfort with the current situation. There was a noted absence of her usual green coat, that nearly all of her friends and comrades knew from personal experience only came off when she was very upset. Her steady focused gaze attempted to burn twin holes into the sheets she was analyzing, searching frantically through for something she could use. Suddenly her eyes widened and her jaw dropped open as her pupils dilated to their smallest size. Her hand rose to her temple as her eyes shut tight and her neck bent and her face turned to the floor, away from the reality that stared at her from the wall which she did not want to face. Her other arm wrapped itself around her lower chest as she gritted her teeth to hold back her sobs.

For what seemed in her mind to be hours she simply stood there attempting to deny that which had now become unavoidable. In her mind she was trying to convince herself that this was not happening, that it was nearly a nightmare come to haunt her in the night. Her fingers tightened their hold on her forehead to the point that her fingernails were about to penetrate her skin and draw blood. She felt the all too familiar sensation of complete uselessness pervade her entire being. 'It's just like before,' she thought 'there is nothing I can do. Nothing at all.' She slammed her fist down upon a nearby piece of wooden furniture fitted to the room to make it feel more comfortable for patients. The wooden dresser shattered into particulate fragments and fell into a pile of splinters and nails on the hospital floor. She felt as her tears began to roll down her cheeks and drip from her chin, beginning to form a puddle on the ceramic tiles. Suddenly the other presence in the room spoke in a deep voice naturally full of commanding presence and light hearted confidence "So there really is no chance of surviving this after all... Humf, well that certainly narrows our options doesn't it?" She slowly turned, a look of shock upon her face, to look at the man with spiked, deep blond hair sitting cross legged on the prim sheets of the hospital bed.

"How? How can you be so calm about this!" She shouted at the man with pain evident in her voice.

"What do you mean 'how'? It's not as if it's anyone's' fault right? And we just figured out that there is nothing we can do to stop it right?" he chuckled to himself.

Angrily she slammed her foot down, cracking the floor with her enormous strength screaming at the man at top of her lungs"Of course there is nothing we can do about it! You shouldn't even be here right now! Its a miracle that it's taken it this long already! How can you be so calm! Don't you realize how this is going to affect everyone! Have you even thought about what this is going to do to Kushina!"

His strong defiant gaze weakened at that statement as his eyes turned towards his knees as he softly replied to her outburst "Of course I have. You think that it doesn't break my heart? I know that this is the worst possible thing that could have happen for her. Now I will never get to know her, or see her. She probably will not even remember the sound of my voice. Just thinking about how it was for me... it... tears me apart inside. But like I said, there is obviously nothing we can do about it."

The anger immediately evaporated from her features as she was instantly disarmed by his words. Her sobs of anguish returned as she ran across the room to tightly wrap her arms around the man in an embrace of purest despair. "This _can't_ happen. It just can't! What will happen to the world without you?"

"Shhhhhhhh. It's okay." he whispered in her ear as he returned her embrace, comfortingly rubbing circles in her back with his palms. "You will all be fine. Absolutely fine. I will make sure of it... and that is a promise... the promise of a lifetime."

He got up from the bed, still tightly wrapped in her arms. She wept openly upon his shoulder in an impossibly rare display of vulnerability. But he was the kind of man that simply had that effect on people. He always had been and over the years he had become accustomed to it. The man easily stood a whole head taller than the woman, and he rested his chin on the top of her hear as he comforted her in her time of need. Eventually however he knew that she needed time to mourn on her own so he gently disengaged the embrace and sat her down on the bed. She still could not stop weeping, her face in her hands. His lips curved into a kind, gentle smile full of compassion. He turned to leave the room, but stopped at the doorway. Before he turned the knob to open the room he spoke with deep authority "This information shall remain S rank classified. Do you understand? Nobody is to know about this." then his voice softened again as he then said very quietly "I couldn't possibly face everyone if they knew." And with that he was gone, leaving the door half open, as the blond woman sobbed uncontrollably on the bed.

In the empty hallway the man approached the nearest window and spoke in an authoritative tone to the empty air "Painter!" Immediately a figure completely covered up in a white cloak with a hood appeared in the window sill. His face was hidden behind a white ceramic mask painted in red. The design on the mask took the appearance of Geisha makeup.

"Yes my lord. What is is you need." the man asked in an even tone.

The blond man sighed slowly and turned to the cloaked man saying "My friend, the reports are in. It is time. Start making arrangements for operation Omega Alpha to begin tonight at midnight."

"... My lord... I..."

"Painter! Obey my orders! There is no other way now."

"... I see... and the recipient? Have you chosen one?"

"Yes I have..." The blond man then whispered into the cloaked man's ear.

The cloaked figure paused for a moment then replied slowly "... very well... my lord... see you... tonight..."

"Absolutely."

Elsewhere in the hospital a woman with a long blond pony tail in purple biker shorts and a matching purple sleeveless top that exposed her mid-drift stood in the hallway outside of the doorway of a room numbered two-hundred and fifty. She gently bobbed up and down on the balls of her feet, rocking back and forth. She gently cooed and whispered to a bundle in her arms. The bundle was slowly ceasing to emanate infantile cries as the baby in her arms drifted to sleep. She stared with adoration at the face of the infant, worshiping its features with her eyes. She thought to herself that she had never seen such a beautiful creature before in her entire life. She lifted a finger and gently played with the child's dark hair, remarking to herself "the color of early night. Oh you are just the cutest thing." She giggled to herself with a wide grin as she hugged the child close to her bosom. She heard footsteps approaching and looked up towards the end of the hall.

Rounding the corner was a tall muscular man with spiked deep blond hair. He wore upon his forehead a black headband bearing a metal plate in the front marked with the Konoha insignia. He wore a long black short sleeved coat that flowed behind him as he moved, giving the orange flames along its edge and sleeves the illusion of true moving flame. His forearms were covered in gray battle plates, as were his shins. His chest was covered in a black short sleeved shirt that fit tightly over his barreled chest. His collar exposed the netted under armor beneath and the under armor could be seen extending beyond his sleeves down to his elbows as well. Tied around his left arm just above his elbow was another metal plated band marked with the kanji for shinobi rather than the leaf insignia. He was one of the only persons she knew who still wore their headband from the war. Then again he had technically not received it until after the war was over, but nobody ever complained. He wore form fitting black pants that came down to just below his knees. And his face. She blushed as smiled blissfully as she then gazed upon his face. She had decided years ago that it was her favorite of all his features.

He was smiling his loving gentle grin as always, and his strikingly blue eyes focused upon her as he approached. They were filled with so much kindness and genuine happiness that every time she looked at them she about melted where she stood. She also thought that his black whisker marks perfectly accented his strong clean shaven jaw. She giggled and lightly jogged towards him as he approached down the hallway towards her, and extended her free arm out, inviting him into a hug. He adopted his infamous ear to ear grin and laughed kindheartedly while he leaned towards her as they reached one another. But rather than embrace her in a hug he simply leaned in and gently plucked the infant from her arms to wrap it in his own. "Heyyyyy cutie pie. Have you missed me?" he cooed lovingly.

The woman, seeing an opportunity, quickly replied "Oh your so sweet. Of course I missed you. We don't spend nearly enough time together anymore."

The man simply blinked with confusion, saying "Ino... I was talking to my daughter..."

Her head dropped as an aura of gloom and hopelessness surrounded her. She guiltily replied "I know, I know." to which he simply chuckled in reply.

"Sorry Ino, I know you're trying but the answer is still no. I will not be going on a date with you."

"But Naruto think about how much fun it will be." she childishly whined. Then she abruptly changed to tone of her voice getting close to him and wrapping her arms around his free arm and rubbing her face on his broad shoulder. "Imagine it. Just you and me, in a candle lit restaurant, sipping some sake. Hell we can even do at Ichiraku's I don't mind at all. I'll even treat." She seductively said, her eyes shinning with hope from the vision she had painted for herself.

"Ino. The answer is still no. I know you mean well but I don't think it's a good idea." he sympathetically replied "You know it still hurts." he then said with deep sadness in his voice.

She looked at the floor guiltily and said "Sorry, I was being insensitive wasn't I? I... You know I only want to help..."

"It's okay Ino" he then brightly chuckled, "I'm not mad at you. So is Sakura up for visitors? I know she is having a tough time right now."

"Yup she is up, but she is _Grouchy." _she said ominously. "She wanted to get out of bed and slug Kushina to get her to stop crying so I had to leave the room." she said to the man she so very much admired then looking at the infant in his arms. "She missed you Naruto."

"Awwwww I'm sowwie. Pwease forgive me?" he cooed in mock baby talk at the infant in his arms. "Don't worry daddy is here now." The baby audibly giggled as he ticked its tummy and cooed.

Ino smiled warmly and gazed at the pair, "She is a lucky girl Naruto. Your a good father."

"Hahahaha! I don't know about that, but I sure try." He said gently rocking his daughter in his arms.

She smiled and blushed 'So humble. And so so soooo _Hot_' she thought to herself nearly drooling a bit. She became lost in her own fantasy, in which Naruto was crawling across a bed towards her with his shirt off 'Oh God his body is so hot' and saying 'Ino I want you to be the mother of Kushina's siblings... Ino... Ino...'

"Ino! Ino!" Naruto snapped his fingers in her face to bring her back to reality.

She came around and quickly wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth saying "Huh?"

"I was saying that we should check on Sakura." he said annoyed and quickly loosing his patience "She probably needs company to distract her."

"More like somebody to yell at..." Ino replied sourly.

Naruto laughed "Well if that's what she need's better us than Bushy Brows."

They entered into the hospital room and were met with an extremely enthusiastic greeting from an extremely muscular man dressed in a green jumpsuit, orange leg warmers, and a traditional Konoha chunin armor vest. His dark black coconut shaped hair and thick rectangular eyebrows betrayed his perfectly toned body and made him rather unattractive in all honesty. "Ino! Your back! Naruto! So good of you to come visit! Your kindness shines bright with the might of Youth!"

Laughing Naruto was the first to speak "Thanks Lee. Good to see you too. I know I haven't been visiting you guys as much as I should have but I've been really busy." Ino was occupying herself with giggling and tracing the kanji that trailed down the middle of the back of his coat with her fingers. "So how is she doing?" he asked the energetic man.

"She is truly filled with the power of youth to be holding up as well as she is!" he replied with pride. "She has thus far refused to accept any medication to assist her. She wants it to be more _Natural." _He said. He then leaned over and wagged his finger playfully in the face of Naruto's daughter. "Heyyyy Kushina. Soon your going to have a new little friend ain't cha?" The infant giggled in reply grabbing onto his finger. "Strong grip. Her power of youth is great indeed!"

Naruto had missed everything that his friend had done or said after he had heard the words 'Refused to accept medication.' His face had gone completely pale and his left eye was twitching uncontrollably. "She... S-s-she is … _N_-_not_ on the medicine?" he spoke with dread in his heart. 'This is going to be bad' Naruto thought to himself.

"Mrs. Lee its time to check on your dilation." a nurse who had just entered the room said. The nurse went behind the curtain that was separating Sakura's bed from the three of them. The next thing Naruto knew he was rescuing the nurse out of a crater in the wall that Sakura's fist had launched her into.

"LEE!" the woman bellowed from behind the curtain "GET YOUR ASS IN HERE NOW! AND WILL SOMEBODY GET ME SOME GOD DAMN MEDS!" Ino at this point was already fleeing the room in a full tilt shadow blur.

"Of course darling! Your knight in shining armor comes to comfort you in your time of need!" Lee said enthusiastically as he ran behind the curtain.

Naruto immediately changed his mind about the visit and shouted over his shoulder "wellitwasgreattoseeyoubye!" as he leaped from the fourth floor window his daughter safely tucked in the crook of his arm.

Some time later, as the sun was about to begin setting, Naruto made his way down the streets of Konoha. Countless people bowed to him and spoke to him in honorifics as they passed. His ego enjoyed the treatment despite what he told anyone, and he grinned while returning the greetings to every single one of them.

"Naruto-sama. It's good to see you again." Said a shinobi who approached Naruto. The man had long brunette hair than flowed down his back and was tied at the very bottom. His white garb was loosely fitting for flexibility and his milk white eyes gazed at Naruto with admiration and respect. He wore his headband around his right arm, his bare, unmarked forehead proudly on display to the whole world.

"Hey Neji. How is the clan?" Naruto replied genialy, despite his noted discomfort with his close friend using the honorific '-sama.'

"We have never been better. Mission success rates have skyrocketed, and we are all coming together in love and respect after so many years of coldness amongst ourselves. And it is all thanks to you Lord Hokage." Neji bowed till his now barren forehead touched the ground.

"Really Neji, it's no big deal, all I did was ban the birdcage seal. You guys are the ones affecting change yourselves. Don't attribute it all to me now." He chuckled as a drop of sweat rolled down the side of his face.

Neji smile with genuine happiness, then his smile disappeared and his eyes grew sad. "I wish she was here to see us like this. It was her dream you know."

Naruto abruptly stopped laughing and bowed his head so his bangs hid his eyes. "Yeah... I know... I just... wish the council had agreed to let me do it before... you know... so she..." He was now nearly speaking in a whisper.

Neji's eyes filled with sympathy for his friend and Leader. "Indeed" he replied solemnly.

"Uhh... I gotta go Neji. Somewhere I gotta be." He spoke apologetically to his friend.

"Your going to visit her again aren't you" Neji said sadly "you visit her around sunset nearly every day now."

"Yeah..." was Naruto's only rely

"Well don't let me keep you waiting... I will see you later" Neji said sadly.

"Right Naruto replied before shadow blurring away across Konoha.

"Kyaaa!" the man with short cropped brunette hair and red fang shaped tattoos on his cheeks yelled as he and a rather large white canine of indeterminate breed charged across the clearing in the forest. The men opposite him scattered, that is all but one scattered.

The one that remained behind cocked back his fist before shouting "Expansion Jutsu!" at which point his fist instantly grew nearly one-hundred times larger. The fist collided with the charging man but the canine dodged the blow and was nearly upon the rather round shaped spiky haired brunette who had stood his ground. However suddenly the canine ceased all movement a mere two inched away from biting the portly man. The shadow beneath the dog wiggled and stretched by a fine line all the way to the base of the nearest tree and up its trunk.

A man with black hair pulled back and tied in a tight ponytail leapt down from the branches to reveal his own shadow to be connected to that of the canine. "Shadow possession complete" He spoke in a bored tone.

The man who had been the recipient of the blow from a giant fist shouted "Akamaru!" before being suddenly enshrouded by a black writhing cloud. "Arg! Fine fine! I concede! I admit that me and Akamaru may not be capable of taking on all of you at once..." He said, his voice filled with annoyance and pride.

"Was that really as difficult as you made it?" said a man wearing dark black glasses and an unrevealing overcoat as he walked out of the shadows and allowed the black mass to flow back into his coat through all available openings.

"I hate your damn bugs you know that Shino? Always have. Too... creepy crawly" He shuddered.

"This could all have been avoided if you hadn't been such an bother about it." spoke the man from the tree releasing the canine from his shadow's control.

"Stuff it Shikamaru!" Said the canines angry companion.

"Come on Kiba it's not like you really had a chance. I mean really, one jounin verses three jounin? That's hardly an even match. Why did you even challenge us?"

"Chouji I'm telling you right here and now that you guys only won by sheer luck." replied Kiba stubbornly "And Shino's damn bugs..." he whispered under his breath.

"I heard that. And they do not appreciate your insults Kiba. They thought you were their friend. You owe them an apology." Shino replied.

Just then Naruto walked into the clearing shouting "Hey guys! How ya doing?" They all turned knowingly as they had actually been waiting for him before the fight broke out amongst them. Shikamaru smiled sympathetically at the sight of Naruto with his daughter in his arms.

"How's Kushina doin' Naruto? I know that my little girl has been keeping me up all hours of the night lately."

Naruto laughed "Nah she grew out of the all night crying a few months ago. That really only lasted the first five months with her."

"Five months?" He shouted horrified "Is that how long its going to last?"

The group of men laughed at their fear stricken friend for a while before the group fell into silence. Eventually Shikamaru was the first to speak, "So you about to head over Naruto? We all figured you could use some company along today." He said smiling again.

Naruto bowed his head to his friends and replied "Thanks guys, that sounds great. But I wanna get to it before the sun sets. I've never been late yet so lets hurry." They all nodded knowingly and followed him to the far side of the clearing to a massive black obsidian wall surrounding a large obsidian crystal shaped statue. They all bowed their heads in prayer as they stood back from the memorial. The wall had been erected after the war because to many had died all at once to fit all of the names on the old monument. So now the tradition had changed from replacing old names to make room for new ones to leaving the names permanently. After a few minutes of silent prayer a sound began to fill the clearing. It started in soft but steadily grew louder as the minutes passed. Eventually Shikamaru leaned over and wrapped his arm over Naruto's shoulder without opening his eyes. Naruto shook under his friends arm as the sound of water drops hitting grass joined the sounds of sobbing. Naruto held his daughter tight to his chest as he allowed the tears finally to freely flow down his face, after holding them in with all his might all day long.

"I still see her. sniff* Every time sniff* sniff* I close my eyes sniff* she is there. Just the way she always was. Sniff* Right there. Right beside me. Sniff* My whole life. Sniff* And for the longest time sniff* I didn't even notice." He dropped to his knees as his other friends gathered around him, eyes shut tight to hide his sorrows away, and hugged him and his daughter. "I hate myself! I should have gone with her! It was a dangerous mission we all knew it! She had just been appointed jounin right after recovering from childbirth for God's sake! She wasn't ready! I should have saved her! I SHOULD HAVE SAVED HER!" He cried to the heavens unending tears flowing down his face. His daughter in his arms fast asleep, was now beginning to wake due to his cries of anguish. She bubbled and hummed reaching out for her father's face.

He stopped shouting and looked down at his daughter. His beautiful, beautiful daughter with those big beautiful white eyes. They were the same white her's were. Like porcelain. He held her as tight as he could and murmured softly while kissing her head repeatedly as his tears dripped down and landed upon her brow, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I"m so so sorry. I'm sorry." He stood and walked over to the wall. He walked straight to a single name. A name that had been added to the wall nearly eight months earlier. He reached out and touched the name, running his fingers along it, feeling it. He then took his daughters hand and held it up to the wall, gently brushing her fingers against the name. "You feel that? Huh? That name is a special name. It is the name of daddy's heart. Can you hear it Kuku? It's always saying it over and over again in my chest." He kissed her head and held her against his chest "It goes Hinata, Hinata. Hinata, Hinata." He said as his daughter began to fall back asleep.

His friends stood back and let him cry. This had become a routine among those left of their group. Without Tenten and Hinata they had all vowed to never again used their groups now infamous nickname, 'Konoha's Rookie Eight.' They now took turns coming here with Naruto to mourn Hinata. He had taken her death so hard that they knew they could not stand to allow him to go it alone. Never again would they allow Naruto to bear his burdens alone. They waited patiently as their Hokage sat and cherished his daughter. His only remaining keepsake of his lost love. Hinata Uzumaki. The wife of the Leaf's famous Rokudaime Hokage, the infamous 'unpredicatable ninja', also known across the shinobi world as 'Naruto Uzumaki the War Ender.' As the sun finally dipped below the horizon Shikamaru remembered why he always came at sunset. The sun was setting outside of his office window when the news reached his ears that she had fallen in combat. So he always came at sunset, every single night since her name was added and body cremated. As Shikamaru recalls Naruto personally demoted the entire team of chunin who were also on the mission with her, for failing to uphold their most precious charge, doing everything in their power to protect their comrade. Naruto had officially added this missive to the Konoha Ninja handbook after the incident, so that never again would any Konoha ninja place the completion of the mission before the life of a comrade. It caused quite a lot of political backlash from the old guard of Konoha. But he was Hokage so they had to deal with it.

At that moment Naruto's most trusted adviser leapt down amongst them. The white haired ninja lowered his face mask and raised his headband off of his scared eye before bowing out of respect for the dead. He then readjusted his mask before any of the group got a good look at his face. Rumor was that upon being appointed Hokage Naruto made a point of ordering his former sensei to show him his face. Naruto has not talked of the incident since... to anyone. Kakashi walked to his Hokage's side and whispered in his ear "Naruto your needed for preparations for the operation. We cannot get underway without your supervision as you are the only expert available on what we are trying to contain."

"Of course Kakashi. Just give me a second. I need to talk to Hinata's best friends first."

Kakashi's eye betrayed his emotions as Naruto looked at him. He was devastated to be taking part in this. It was clearly breaking his heart. Naruto ignored it for the time being. He needed Kakashi to help and he trusted nobody else with the task. That was why he was his main council and adviser. He trusted the man implicitly. Naruto walked up to Kiba and Shino before turning to the other two men and saying "Shikamaru, Chouji, your Hokage needs to speak to these two in private. Please leave." With a confused look from Chouji and a suspicion look from Shikamaru as they both bowed and obeyed his command he turned back to his wife's best friends.

"Ummmm... Naruto? What could you possibly need to tell us in private? Those guys are trustworthy." Kiba said, clearly bewildered. Shino simply nodded in agreement.

_Sometime later_

"The preparations are complete Hokage. Are you certain that the new seal you have invented will work?" asked 'the painter' from Naruto's side.

"Yes Sai it will work. It is the culmination of all of the Uzumaki's history in the art of seals. This will be the worlds first perfect seal. With no chance of an accident happening... ever." Naruto said with conviction.

Sai paused at the use of the name he abandoned when Naruto appointed him the head of the Anbu. He rested his hand on his first friend's shoulder. He hated the idea of what was happening more than he had ever hated anything in his life. But he would assist his oldest friend with his task. To ensure the safety of innocents the world over that would then be in danger otherwise. He nodded and asked "Is it time to get the final piece?"

"Yes... just... make sure they know that nothing bad will happen. Then get out of there fast. He will chase you to the end of the world so run. Run _fast_."

"Understood." with that Sai disappeared. Naruto stood outside of the lines marking where a giant barrier would soon be erected by the full combined might of the entire Anbu core. He looked out from his location atop his own face which had been carved into the side of the cliff that overlooked Konoha. His was the only face smiling. In fact his was grinning, he had demanded it be made that way. He looked at the place that he loved so dearly. He would do anything to protect Konoha, that is aside from sacrificing any of his friends, or his daughter for that matter. '_Especially_ my daughter' he thought to himself. He looked up to the stars that then shone in the sky. He felt nostalgic, he felt he deserved to be considering what he was about to do. He remembered that man. The man who had attempted to kill him more times than he cared to remember but that he had never hated. "Sasuke... I wonder... can you see me?" he wondered wistfully aloud. "I would like to hope that you were given paradise at the end... even if only to comfort myself. You did horrible things my friend. Unforgivable things. That is why you had to die. Heh. Well, I doubt I will receive any forgiveness for what _I_ am about to do either." He paused, pensive, then added "I couldn't face her today. I faced Lee but I couldn't face her. Not while knowing what I am about to do. I am a dobe after all. Just like you always said eh? Come to think of it I couldn't say goodbye to any of them today. I made a point of seeing every single one of them though. I even stopped by to give Iruka a hug. He let Kushina hold his finger." He laughed aloud to himself, for what reason he himself was not sure. "Hinata... please... give me a sign... am I doing the right thing? Even if it is to protect people, can it ever be the right thing? To do this to a person, is barbaric. I know this but I still fell the need to do it. How on earth could a dobe like me have been so lucky as to be recipient of your love? You were an angel in life, it is only right that I imagine you as one in death. You were _my_ angel though... By God do I miss you... Without you everything has seemed so... hollow. Being Hokage, protecting my friends, preserving peace. It has all been meaningless to me without you... well except for Kushina of course. She was what saved me when you died. Without her I am not sure what I would have done."

"My lord. I have brought the final piece." Sai said, suddenly appearing behind Naruto.

"... Good I suppose... well lets get this over with. Begin the justu. Raise the barrier."

"Yes Lord Hokage... Naruto."

Sai deposited something from within his cloak into Naruto's arms then joined his soldiers in constructing the barrier. Kakashi approached him from behind. "May I see him before it happens? I feel compelled to..."

"Of course sensei. Come here."

_Elsewhere in Konoha_

Lee walked into the hospital room of his wife and the new mother of his child, however upon entering, his eyes dilated and he cried out "AHHHHHHHH!"

"What?" shouted Sakura,startled awake by her husbands scream.

"Our son! He is GONE!" Lee replied in a panic.

"WHAT!" she replied in horror. She then realized that he was correct, and that she could no longer feel their son resting in her sleeping arms. Lee began tearing the hospital room apart searching. He was about to leap from the window to inform Naruto when he was stopped by a voice.

"Wait! Don't. Don't go looking... just... come with me... to the roof." It was Tsunade, standing in the doorway, her eyes red from crying all day and he voice pleading.

"Master? What is going on! Do you know where our son is?" she demanded from her bed, unable to get up on her own so soon after childbirth.

"I know... but I can't say... not yet. He is safe, trust in that. Now please come."

"Who is responsible for this!" Lee bellowed, about to begin releasing inner gates out of sheer rage.

"It was... Naruto..." The statement was met with stunned silence. Sakura simply stared at her teacher, mouth agape, while Lee seemed to have had his faith in humanity shattered.

"Come quietly and I will explain... please." she pleaded with them.

As they walked down the hallway, Sakura riding on her husbands back Tsunade began her explanation. "He... took your son. He has his reasons, and your son will not be harmed... at least... not physically."

"What is that supposed to mean? Is he safe or not?" Sakura pleaded, crying and desperate to know where her son was. Lee's face had become an unreadable sheet of raw concentration.

"Naruto... is not long for this world." was Tsunade's only immediate response. Again her statement was met with stunned silence.

"That's impossible! Nothing on earth could possibly kill Naruto!" replied Sakura.

"No, that is simply not true. In fact it has been slowly happening for two weeks now. It began with nausea, then three days later progressed to fainting spells, a day after that it became localized paralysis. He has been coughing up blood for more than a week now and his skin has been turning yellow. He has been hiding it from you all with transformation jutsu. Sakura, what can you tell me about those symptoms..."

Sakura's face took on a look of blank unflinching shock. "No... but those symptoms... in that time-frame it has to be something else! Something curable! Those symptoms progress over hours not days!"

"Precisely what I thought. But once we actually tested for it... there was no avoiding it. He is only alive because the powers of the demon fox, combined with his inherited Uzumaki resilience have slowed the disease to a crawl. But it is still incurable. He has mere hours left..."

"Oh my God..." was all Sakura could muster in response, so deeply affected by the news that her tears ran dry and stopped flowing.

"I don't care!" Lee defiantly said. Tsunade looked at him with a combination of incredulity and disgust. He ignored it and continued "All I care about in the entire world right now is where our son is. So TELL ME NOW!" He spoke in such a terrifying voice that Tsunade shivered.

"He has activated operation Omega Alpha."

"What are you saying? There is no such operation. And operations cannot begin with a signal that comes after the following signal in the alphabetic sequence." Sakura argued back.

"The operation is known only to the Hokage, his advisors, and the Anbu. It is a backup protocol Naruto developed on the day of his appointment." She turned away from them unable to face them as they reached the roof of the building to find Ino, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji, Shino and Kiba all gathered on the roof as well, confusion covering most of their faces. Kiba, rather than looking confused was staring at something in his arms. Shino stood beside him, staring at it as well. Tsunade gathered the attention of all of the ninja she had gathered at the roof of the hospital and without looking into any of their eyes began to speak.

"Naruto has taken Lee and Sakura's newborn son." Everyone gasped at this news but Tsunade ignored their demands for answers and explanations and simply continued to speak. "Naruto is giving him his burden..."

Chouji suddenly pointed towards the Hokage monument and shouted "Look! Something is up!"

Atop the Hokage monument in a clearing of stone cliff-face Naruto looked upon the barrier as the Anbu finally completed its construction. Naruto took the small bundle from Kakashi and gently carried it into the barrier with himself. Kakashi called out after him, one final question on his mind, "Naruto! Why did it have to be a newborn? Surely your daughter with her Uzumaki heritage would be more suitable."

Naruto turned to his sensei and friend and replied "The seal will only work on someone who's chakra coils have yet to condense and solidify. The chakra coils become fully solidified in a child exactly twenty four hours after birth." He looked down upon the newborn, so vulnerable and fragile. He vowed to himself to allow no harm to come to the child. He passed into the area enclosed by the barrier and felt it solidify behind him, knowing it had become all but indestructible now. Kakashi looked on in helpless sadness, unable to either help or hinder the process about to unfold. Naruto gently placed the child onto a stone altar near the edge of the barrier and walked to the center of the enclosed space. He closed his eyes and drifted into the watery corridors of his mindscape.

Naruto approached the gates enclosing his friend and entered into the cell without concern. There waiting for him was his best friend in the world, his confidant when he was concerned and his comforter in his sorrows. The demon nine-tailed fox, Kurama. It turned to him with pleading eyes and cried out "Give me more time Naruto! I can still save us! I can beat this disease yet! I-"

"No Kurama! We are out of time. It is now time to say farewell." Naruto said with compassion in his voice.

"No! I refuse! You can't do this to me! I don't want to be alone anymore! I need my friend! I need you!"

"Kurama... you will not be alone. You will have a new person to befriend."

"No I will not! How can you lie to me so? He will HATE ME! They always hate me! Everyone hates me! YOU hated me!"

"That was before I let go of all my hate Kurama, you know that. I blamed you for my problems when after all you did not choose to be sealed inside of me. Then I was able to reach out and befriend you. You have given up your hate for me, why for no one else?"

"You are special! No other man like you exists! You are the only person capable of caring for a demon! I refuse to let you abandon me, alone again! Release me and free me from my solitude!"

"That will solve nothing and you know it. You will be just as alone out there as you have been inside the Jinchuriki. You are alone because you push others away. Just let go of your hatred-"

"My hatred is justified!"

"No hatred is ever justified Kurama."

"Please. Naruto. Don't do this to me. I need you my friend."

"Kurama if I do not do this you will die with me, then simply reform after a time. You will still be full of hate and you will hurt people. I can't let that happen."

"As I said! Simply release me!"

"No Kurama... this is the end... goodbye." And with that Naruto made a series of hand seals and touched the gates behind himself. They transformed into a swirling vortex and sucked Kurama into it.

"NARUTO! YOU HAVE BETRAYED ME! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!"

"Goodbye Kurama..."

Returning to the material world Naruto's body convulsed suddenly and his shirt erupted from the naval as and enourmous mass was pouring out of his body. The mass began to take shape, and more matter began to appear from the air around them. The other half of Kurama's chakra returned to him as he reclaimed his physical form. He roared with all his might in anguish. Naruto stood and rapidly began flowing through hand seals. The fox turned upon his now former friend and skewered him with one of his tails. The attack halted Naruto's hands and began to push his back. However, Naruto grabbed a firm hold of tail and with all of his might held the blow. The demon's nine tails lashed against the barrier enclosing him, but it held strong... barely. Naruto slowly began to smile, and Kurama's look changed from fury to horror as he realized his mistake. His former jailer held his tail firm as Naruto's blood flowed down the tail to it's tip, dripping off of it, and onto the stomach of the infant sleeping on the altar.

"Whirlpool Seal! Four Elements of Infinite Binding Friendship!" Naruto cried out.

The reaction was instantaneous once the final words had been spoken. Kurama in his entirety began to flow like liquid through the hole in Naruto's stomach and into the stomach of the newborn. The infant cried out in pain as the full force of the chakra of the nine-tailed fox was sealed inside of him. Once the flow was complete, a large, complex seal formed across the newborn's stomach and chest. Naruto slowly attempted to turn around, falling to the ground in his efforts. He then proceeded to drag himself across the ground towards the altar. He eventually reached the altar and pulled himself up to rest halfway upon it. He reached out his hand and rested it upon the infant's head. "Shhhhhh... it's... okay...you will... be... okay... I... prom-" Naruto stopped mid word and ceased breathing. And so the Rokudaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato died. Comforting the infant child of two of his best friends. The barrier disappeared as Anbu flooded towards their fallen master. Kakashi stood back, a large wet spot visible on the headband that covered his eye.

_Earlier that day, just after sundown_

"I'm dying tonight." Naruto said flatly, with no emotion in his voice. His two friends stood in shock of the statement, unable to speak. Eventually Kiba was the first to regain his voice.

"What do you mean your going to die? Your Naruto Uzumaki! The Uzumaki are know to commonly live lives lasting one-hundred and fifty years! And plus you're the most feared man on the planet! What could kill you!" he shouted in denial at his friend.

"Disease..." Shino said quietly. Silence fell between them. But then Shino turned and asked "But what of the Fox demon? Should its healing powers not protect you from disease?"

"He is." was Naruto's simple reply. Then realization dawned upon Kiba as Shino voiced the now obvious

"So the only thing keeping you alive is the Fox demon? How deadly is this illness?"

"Impossibly. It commonly kills withing five hours time. The fact that I have been living with it now for two weeks is as Tsunade calls it 'a miracle.' She says that even with Kurama's power I have at most three days left before I die."

"How are you up and about?" demanded Kiba?

"Because I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I refuse to let this thing prevent me from living me last few days." he said with finality.

"You must be in incredible pain." said Shino.

"I am." replied Naruto flatly.

"Woah woah woah!" Shouted Kiba "This can't be happening! This isn't happening! No!"

"It is Kiba!" shouted Naruto in return.

"... So why tell us?" asked Shino "It's not like we are the closest people among our friends to you. In fact despite the fact that we've known each other for years I don't think you know either of us intimately. So why not Shikamaru. You two get each other so well. Surely he would be a better choice to tell."

"I may not be all that close to you, but I am in love with someone who was. You were Hinata's best friends in the world. I know because she talked about you guys all the time. You were all really close. She trusted you with her life. So she would trust this to be left only to you two. I know it."

"It's true that we were close, we loved Hinata like a little sister." said Kiba solemnly and he and Shino both were quiet for a minute remembering their fallen little sister. "But what task?" he asked.

Naruto said nothing in return. He turned away from them before holding up his daughter in front of himself. He stood there worshiping her as the two puzzled his motives. He kissed her head, then her hands, then her chest on top of her heart. He whispered to her "I will always be with you in there. I love you forever and always Kushina." Shino froze as he realized what Naruto was asking of them. Kiba still confused just stared. Then Naruto turned to him and deposited Kushina in his arms. Kiba then finally realized what was happening. He fell to his knees and began to cry, hold onto Kushina like she was the last firm thing as his secure world crumbled away. Shino knelt beside him and placed an understanding hand on his shoulder, his other hand brushing Kushina's hair.

"This is really happening isn't it..." he stated, not asked.

"Yes." simply said Shino beside him.

Naruto stood there with tears in his eyes as he gazed upon his beloved daughter for the last time. He and Kakashi then disappeared.

"Were gonna have to move in together to help each other with this." flatly said Shino.

"People are gonna think were gay aren't they..." Kiba stated.

"Very likely." replied his best friend. "If she wasn't in the picture people wouldn't think anything of it, just two roommates... but with her there... they will make presumptions."

"Well Fuck them!" said Kiba "Were gonna raise her right and that is going to take both of us! Screw the world! As long as Kushina is better for it, I will do anything." He said looking at the infant with love in his eyes. She was _Their _angel now. Entrusted to them by the greatest man the world had ever known. And he knew in that moment that he would never let anybody stop her from being happy, ever. And that was why Naruto trusted them with her. Because they would love their little sister's daughter with all their hearts from that moment forward.

Office of the Bursar  
>132 Administration Building<br>1001 E. Wooster St.  
>Bowling Green, OH. 43403<p> 


	2. Chapter 1: Springtime of Youth's Dawn

I hope that all who read this find enjoyment in doing so

Still dedicated to my best friend.

A Reminder to everyone out there because although I did not happen to mention it in the prologue I do NOT own Naruto or any of its characters. I only own my characters.

Chapter 1: Springtime of Youths' Dawn!

_Five years ago..._

The sun rose over the cliffs above Konoha as the citizens of a particular Konoha neighborhood were awoken by an all too familiar cry. "GOOD MORNING DAD!" shouted a young girl leaning out of her bedroom window. She smiled up at the grinning face on the Hokage monument for a moment then leaned back into her bedroom and closed the window.

"Kuku! Wake up! Your gonna be late for your first day!" shouted a man with red fang shaped tattoos on his cheeks wearing a netted under armor tank-top up the home's staircase. His statement was met with silence and the man shook his head while sighing. He then was about to climb the stairs to fetch the object of his reminder when suddenly a young girl with long, spiky, dark navy blue hair and porcelain white eyes popped her head out of a doorway at the top of the stairs.

"Boo!"

"AHH! What the? Kushina don't scare me like that! I thought you were still asleep, I was about to go get you." replied the man in a very fatherly tone.

"Sorry Uncle Kiba hehe. I couldn't help it, it's fun to surprise you. And I was already awake."

"Well get dressed and go sit down at the table. Uncle Shino is just finishing making breakfast."

"Yay! Is he making his famous cinnamon rolls?"

"What, do you think he would make anything less for your first day?"

"Awesome!" she cried excitedly running back into her room to dress herself. She came back out of the room wearing a purple tee shirt with bright orange Uzumaki swirls on the shoulders and a large one across the back. She wore tan shorts, and around her neck hung a necklace with the broken stump of what remained of her father's old crystal necklace on it.

She then flew down the stairs two at a time, rounded the corner and took off down the hallway towards the kitchen. She came into a simple kitchen with a round four person table in it. She sat down in one off the chairs as she watched a man wearing a black turtle neck and dark glasses making her breakfast. The man was cooking eggs and ham in a skillet over a modest gas burning stove top. He moved the skillet to a cold burner then bent over and pulled a tray out of the oven. Soon the entire room was flooded with the smell of cinnamon. He then laid the tray down and moved two of the freshly baked buns off of it and onto a plate. He then placed a scoop of eggs and two sliced of ham on the plate as well. He put the plate down and pulled a glass from an overhead cabinet, then reached into their refrigerator and pulled out a glass bottle of milk. He poured a glass of milk then set the glass and the plate in front of Kushina who was bouncing in her seat with excitement. "Thank you Uncle Shino! Your cooking is so great!" she got up and tackled Shino with a hug, which he silently returned.

"Eat well. You will need your strength for class. It is not going to be easy, even if it is the first day." Shino advised his goddaughter. She nodded and sat down, proceeding to eat the meal in front of her. Kiba then entered the room and walked over to the coffee machine to pour himself a mug. After taking a few sips he then pulled a flat bottomed bowl out of the cabinet and shoveled a scoop of Shino's eggs into it. He place the bowl on the floor and whistled loudly. A white canine the size of a mule rounded a corner in the house and barked happily at his partner. Kiba then reached into their medicine cabinet and pulled out a plastic prescription bottle filled with bright yellow pills. He pulled one out and threw it into the bowl of eggs. The canine whined loudly at the man. "Don't give me any of that. It's for your arthritis you know that. At your age we need to start taking precautions so stop whining and eat it."

The dog hung its head low and proceeded to eat its own breakfast. Kushina chuckled at her uncles partner in crime as she happily ate her own meal. Finishing she put her dishes in the sink and ran to the front door as fast as she could. "Uncle Kiba, Uncle Shino! I'm leaving now!"

"Wait! Kushina you forgot something!" replied Kiba as he and Shino walked down the hallway towards her.

She stopped and began patting herself down, searching for something she may have forgotten.

"No, I think I have everything."

"Your hair dear." said Shino "You still have bedhead. It's unbecoming of a young girl to arrive on her first day at the academy with bedhead. Come here I will fix it for you."

"Oops hahaha. Guess I forgot to brush my hair this morning in all the excitement." she rubbed the back of her head and grinned in embarrassment. "Thanks Uncles."

Shino walked up to his goddaughter and pulled a hairband out of his pocket. He quickly shuffled his fingers through and over her hair, placing it back into her favorite hair style. Her hairs' wild spikes pointed in every direction, unrestrained but symmetrical. Her bangs were short over her brow, but became long over her temples and framed her face. Her long hair lay down her back tied by a band at the back of her neck. "Done. Now run along little one." said Shino as he finished. She hugged him in thanks, then promptly took of running through the streets of Konoha towards the academy.

_Elsewhere that same morning_

"Suki! Satsuki! Where are you deary?" an elderly woman shouted as she searched through the dormitory rooms of the Konohagakure no Sato Orphanage. The young building, still in pristine condition since its construction nearly fifteen years ago by order of the Rokudaime himself, was nonetheless riddled with nooks and cranny's for children to hide in. It took the nanny nearly fifteen minutes to finally track down the child she had been searching for. The young girl was hiding in a hall closet behind a series of brooms and mops. "Deary there you are. Come come this is no time to be hiding. It is a big day for you you know. You don't want to be late do you?"

"I don't want to go Miss Harumi. I want to stay here with you." replied the little girl with pitch black eyes and short scarlet red hair. The girl wrung her hands in her black tee shirt nervously, and her legs fidgeted in her bright red shorts.

"Deary I will not _force_ you to go if you don't want to. But why would you not want to go? At the ninja academy, think of all the new friends you will make." she said with a compassionate smile.

"They won't like me..." the shy girl meekly replied.

"Deary, you are a wonderful child. I'm sure that everyone there will like you."

"How do you know?" the girl asked.

"I just know about these sorts of things. That is why the Rokudaime himself asked me to become a nanny here. I guarantee you will make wonderful new friends at the academy." she said with a reassuring wink.

"... okay... but if I don't then I don't have to go back right?"

"Absolutely deary. Now come let me fix your hair before you leave so you look nice for all your new friends." the kind woman lifted the child from the closet and set her on her feet. She then licked the tips of her fingers and affectionately fixed the girls' messy hair. "Your hair just hates to sit right darling... hmmmm lets see... done! All pretty." The girls hair now lay straight down its full length to the middle of her shoulder-blades. When suddenly a wide patch of shorter hair in the back sprang up with a will of its own to stand out. "Well... at least its still pretty." the nanny laughed. "Now get going. Hurry hurry."

"Ok Miss Harumi. Thank you." Satsuki replied as she left the building to head to the academy.

_Near the ninja academy _

"Huff, huff, huff, Dad! Huff, we, huff, need, huff, to, huff, STOP!" a boy shouted at the man in front of him as the two ran through the streets of Konoha. "Your, huff, gonna, huff, make, huff, me late!"

At that the man instantly stopped running and turned to his son behind him "Ahhh yes, your right son! We wouldn't want you to be late now would we? Your mother would be upset by that hahaha!" the man laughed, oblivious to the peril that statement would inspire in anyone else in Konoha. After all, the fury of his wife was the stuff of legend. The boy behind him collapsed on the ground, gasping for air. "What's wrong son? We've only been running for four hours. This is nothing hahaha! Why we probably only covered five miles at the speed you were going. You must try harder to channel the power of your youth son. After all, your springtime of youth has only just dawned!" the man with seemingly infinite energy began doing one-handed two finger push-ups while lecturing his son, not even breaking a sweat while doing so. His son managed to get into a seated position, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Dad... I'm only seven years old... I _shouldn't _be able to run that far..." the boy said, clearly annoyed with his fathers' new _training_ regiment for him. "I've got to get to the academy. It's my first day and I don't feel like dealing with detention. Not yet at least." the boy whined as he readjusted his earmuffs.

"What's that? Are those my two boys I hear?" a woman said as she rounded the street corner.

"Hi mom. You here to see me off for my first day?"

"You got it." she said as she leaned down and kissed the top of her son's head. "Remember to keep those earmuffs on sweetie. Here let me fix your hair."

"Mooooom, noooo." the boy protested as his mom began fussing with his bright pink hair. With a sweep of a chakra filled palm she fixed his hair so that it's short natural spikes all leaned forward. She then adjusted the earmuffs so the bridge rested comfortably behind his neck. She tugged on the collar of his green tee-shirt, and straightened the bright pink legwarmers on is shins over top of his black pants. She then licked her thumbs and ran them over his thick, pink, rectangular eyebrows. He blinked his green eyes at her in annoyance.

"There all fixed. Tee hee, doesn't he look hansom darling?" she asked her husband.

"Absolutely my love! His youth overflows from his appearance!" the man replied.

"Sigh, thanks mom, thanks dad. I'm gonna go to school now. See you tonight okay?" he said to his parents with a smile.

"We Love you Minato!" his mom said as he walked off down the street to the academy entrance.

"Love you too Mom, Dad!" Minato shouted back as he approached the building.

As Minato reached the door he noticed Kushina and Satsuki, both girls nearby and approaching the door from opposite directions. The boy hesitated for a moment before sighing and resigning himself to holding the door open for both of them. The first to walk through was Kushina, who remarked "Thank you. That was awfully nice of you."

"No problem." he replied. Then as Satsuki reached the door she turned to look at him. She immediately found herself unable to speak, transfixed with the boy before her. She felt her heart-beat accelerate, and she blushed mildly. 'Wow... he is so cute' the girl thought to herself. Coming back to herself she was only able to nod shyly to him as she continued into the building. He shrugged it off as first day jitters and entered the building behind them. As he turned his way through the halls looking for the room he was assigned to he noticed that both of the girls were making turns identical to his own. He wondered if they were in the same class as himself only to be answered in the affirmative seconds later as they turned into the classroom with the number on the door he was told to go to. He entered behind them and looked around the room. The room was packed with children both eager and nervous about starting ninja training. All the seats in the room were full but for three in the front of the middle row. He saw Kushina sit in the right hand seat and Satsuki sit in the left hand seat, leaving only the seat between them open. He shrugged and made his way over and sat down. Satsuki on his right immediately began to blush again and turned to look away from the boy next to her. Kushina on his left turned to him immediately and said with a smile on her face,

"Hi there door holding boy. My name is Kushina, what's yours?"

"My name is Minato, nice to meet you." he said smiling in return.

"Oy! You over there. What's your name?" she asked, leaning over the desk in front of herself to look at the third person in their three man desk.

"M-my name? It's Satsuki."

"Kay. Nice to meet ya too." she remarked, turning back to the Minato "So you as excited as I am to start here?"

"Yeah I guess, I just hope it isn't to much _annoying_ work you know?" she looked at him with confusion replying

"What do you mean?"

"Well you know there are two kinds of work, there is regular work, then there is work that is just plain annoying."

"Oh! You mean like how it's fun to practice throwing shuriken but it's not fun to do chores."

"Exactly." he replied, laughing. Satsuki only glared at her female classmate as she thought to herself,

'I never even got a chance to start a conversation... she is so rude.' She then grabbed Minato's shoulder and spun him around to face her remarking, "Yeah I hate that kind of stuff too! Like when the nannies ask everyone to look nice for the people coming to adopt, but you don't feel like getting all dressed up."

The other two students simply blinked in confusion, clearly not seeing the comparison with her given scenario. She noticed their silence and uncomfortably turned away, simply staring at her shoes.

Just then the door to the room opened and a man with short brunette hair wearing a chunin vest and his headband over his forehead walked into the room. He reached up and with one hand and adjusted his round wire rimed glasses, while with the other he blew his nose into a tissue. He then began to introduce himself to the class,

"Hello children allow me to introduce myself. I will be your homeroom teacher starting today. My name is Udon Makah... ah... ACHOO! Sniff* My favorite food is oranges. My least favorite food is anything with pepper in it. I was born on April third so I'm a Virgo. My hobbies include reading, and mathematical theory."

"This guy is... different... I guess would be the nice way to put it..." mumbled Minato.

"Oh come now be nice. I'm sure he's great in his own way... somehow..." replied Kushina. The two proceeded to giggle away at her comment.

"Now I want to go around the room and have everyone introduce themselves. We will start with the middle front row. You miss start us off please." he said pointing at Kushina.

She stood and proudly proclaimed "My name is Kushina Uzumaki! The last of the Uzumaki, the guardians of peace and justice! And one day I will rebuild my clan so that we will always be around to protect the shinobi world." The class was stunned by the statement and uncontrolled murmuring immediately ensued. Minato simply whistled in amazement commenting,

"Wow. That's a pretty tall order your setting yourself up for. You really up for all that jazz?"

"Of course. After all I am my father's daughter." she replied grinning from ear to ear.

"That's right, Uzumaki. That was the last name of the Rokudaime. So your his daughter? Does that make you a princess or something?" asked Satsuki.

"What? Of course not! I'm an Uzumaki not a damsel in distress!" relied an irritated Kushina.

"That's enough. Thank you for sharing Kushina but I think that from now on we should stick to just our names for now." said Udon with authority "Next."

Minato stood and said, "My name is Minato Lee. And before anyone says anything, yeah _those_ Lee's." He sat back down as several of the male students laughed and a 'Poor guy' could be heard being called out. The female students however all began to swoon over his appearance and casual confident attitude. Satsuki blushed. She then remembered it was her turn and stood up saying,

"My name is Satsuki..."

"Satsuki what?" asked Udon. Satsuki looked down at her shoes while shyly responding,

"Well sensei... I don't have a last name... I'm an orphan." Several student in the back of class erupted in laughter. The rest of the class glared at those laughing students with disgust but none said anything.

"No last name what a wierdo. Hahahaha" The ring leader laughed. Udon was about to interfere when suddenly Minato slammed his palm down on the desk and stood angrily yelling at them,

"Cut the crap! Having no last name is nothing to laugh at! In fact it has nothing to do with anything! She has no reason to feel bad that she has no last name! So stuff it you jackasses!"

"You wanna go freak? What's with those earmuffs anyways it's like eighty degree's in here."

"Nobody mocks the earmuffs!" Minato was about to charge the boys when Udon spoke out.

"That is enough! Minato sit back down. Class he is exactly correct. Am I understood?" he glared at the trouble makers. They shriveled under their sensei's angry glare. He then turned to Satsuki and smiled remarking, "Satsuki thank you for sharing with us all. And don't worry, I guarantee you will not be made a target in my classroom."

Satsuki heard her sensei but could not pay any attention to him. Her focus was completely consumed with the boy now sitting next to her still fuming and adjusting his precious earmuffs. 'Nobody has ever done something like that for me before. He's so... heroic. My hero..." her blush spread across her entire face and she swooned over the boy next to her, who at the moment was oblivious of her ignited affection. He turned to Kushina and remarked,

"What a bunch of twerps eh?"

"You said it. An Uzumaki would never ridicule another for self gratification." she agreed, egotistically referencing her heritage. A drop of sweat rolled down the side of Minato's face as he simply chuckled along with the statement.

_Later in on in class_

"Alright now class, since it is our first day we will take it slow and spend some time with hand seal practice." Udon said to the class, then blowing his nose into a tissue and throwing it into the trash bin that was now overflowing with used tissues. He then used some chalk and drew a pair of hands forming a hand seal on the chalkboard. "Now who can tell me what the name of this seal is?" Kushina's hand shot in the air as she remarked,

"That is the tiger seal sensei."

"Very good Kushina, but please in the future wait to be called on before answering."

"Right. Sorry sensei." Kushina sat back down and Minato gave her a high five. Satsuki glared at the girl thinking to herself 'show-off.'

"Now how about this one." He said as he drew another pair of hands forming a different seal. "Who can tell me which seal this is?" Satsuki shot up, shouting out an answer before her hand was even fully raised,

"That is the rabbit seal sensei!"

"No. This is the snake seal. And wait to be called on Satsuki!" She sat back down blushing with embarrassment as classmates giggled at her mistake.

"Now I want everyone to stand up and alternate between making these seals. I will walk around the room and observe, and correct your attempts. A ninja must be capable of making precise, well formed hand seals very quickly." Minato's hand went in the air. "Yes Minato? Do you have a question?"

"Well sensei the thing is... I can't make those hand seals."

Udon chuckled, saying "Don't worry Minato, I'm sure you will get the hang of them soon. Practice makes perfect."

"No sensei... I mean I _Literally_ can't make them." replied Minato to everyone's immediate confusion.

"What do you mean Minato?"

"Well you see... they don't work with my hands." he said holding up his hands with fingers splayed to show his sensei.

"What do you... oh my..." remarked Udon as he got a closer look at his student's hands. Minato's hands each had a thumb, an index finger, a middle finger, a ring finger, and... nothing else. There were not even stubs, his hands merely ended after his ring fingers. "This is a problem Minato. Please come with me to the principal's office where we can discuss this. Everyone else stay here and practice hand seals."

The class stood in shock of this development, and Kushina looked amazed at her new friend while Satsuki looked on with deep concern on her face for her new flame.

Minato nonchalantly followed his sensei out of the room. When they reached the principal's office Udon knocked on the door, saying "Iruka sensei? May I come in?" A voice from within the room relied,

"Of course Udon." Udon opened the door and lead Minato into the room. He took a seat on a chair facing a large desk and pointed for Minato to sit in a the seat next to himself, also facing the desk. The genial old man behind the desk smiled at the two his grin causing the scar that ran across his face to flex. "So what is it you need Udon?"

"You see sensei, one of my students has a rather... unique problem. I need to consult you to find out if he can be allowed to continue here at the academy."

"What?" shouted Minato in surprise.

"What kind of problem?" asked Iruka. Udon motioned for Minato to show him and Minato held out his hands to the academy principal. "Oh my... this is indeed serious." said Iruka as he looked at the bizarre physical abnormality that the student possessed. "What is your name?"

"Minato. Minato Lee."

"Ahhhh your Sakura and Rock's son. So why do you have no pinky fingers?" he asked the boy.

"I don't know. Mom says it's a birth defect." Minato said.

"I see. You know that without pinky fingers you can't use hand seals, therefore many, many jutsu are permanently beyond your reach."

"Yeah I know. But Mom says that doesn't matter because she will teach me medical ninjutsu when I get older. And besides, Dad is _completely_ hopeless with jutsu and he is still a great ninja. Why can't I be too?"

"You make a compelling argument." Iruka laughed. "Udon, it will be fine, he can simply study when the other students practice hand seals."

"Of course sensei." responded Udon.

"You mean it? Yes! I get to stay. I like it here. Some of the students are really cool people."

"Hahaha no problem at all Minato. High five before you go back to class." Iruka help up his hand and Minato happily returned the high five the principal offered him.

_Later that afternoon _

"Wow that was a looong day." said Minato, throwing his hands behind his head as he walked across the yard in front of the school. "Why did first days' lecture have to be on hand seals the whole time? I had to sit and read my textbook all day." he whined. Kushina walking along beside him laughed.

"Well it's not like the lesson applied to you so you had no choice."

"Yeah I know." he replied to his friend. Then he turned and recognized three of their classmates sitting around the roots of the tree in front of the school talking to each other. He and Kushina approached the trio and he remarked, "Hey guys. I recognize you from class but I guess I forgot your names. What are they again?" The only boy in the group, who had light blond hair cropped shot and flat on top, and wore a tan tee-shirt and black slacks, stood and held out his hand,

"Hey there. I'm Inoko Yamanaka. Your Minato right? The one with no pinkies?" Minato began to scowl when Inoko laughed and said, "Don't worry about it, we don't mind it's cool. No judgment man." Minato then smiled and returned the handshake. Inoko turned to Kushina and said "And your the infamous 'Princess of Konoha' Kushina Uzumaki aren't you?" Kushina 'humph'ed the young mans comment and said,

"I'm not a princess. Princesses need to be saved. I'm and Uzumaki, were the ones who do the saving." Inoko laughed and apologized for him mistake. Then one of the girls in the group stood, a young brunette with spiky pigtails and a wide physical build wearing a blue hoodie, jeans and with red pinwheel shaped tattoos on her round cheeks. She offered the bag of cookies she had been eating from out towards them introducing herself while she did.

"Like, hi my name is Chouma Akimichi. Want a cookie?"

"Nah I'm good, my mom will be able to tell if I spoil my apatite for dinner." replied Minato

"Sure." replied Kushina, reaching into the bag and helping herself to a cookie. "Your awfully nice Chouma."

"Thanks Kushina, you seem nice too." then the remaining girl in the group spoke up, choosing to remain laying on the grass rather than stand.

"Hey, how's it hanging? The name's Shikamari Nara." said the girl with deep black hair pulled up into a spiked pony tail at the top back of her head. She wore a long sleeved white shirt and tan cargo shorts.

"It's pretty good I guess. That is for now." Minato replied, "After all I have to go home later." he sighed heavily. The group laughed.

"I feel your pain, my parents are embarrassing too." said Shikamari, "I mean my mom is crazy and my dad is sooo... _bothersome_."

"Oh come on Mari, your dad is actually pretty cool." said Inoko, laughing.

"Nah. He spends all day sleeping and playing shougi. It's a total drag." replied Shikamari. Again everyone laughed.

"So we were, like, about to head to the park to play. Wanna join us guys?" asked Chouma happily.

"Sure." replied Minato and Kushina at the same time.

"Great. Now he have enough people to play ninja." said Inoko.

The group began to walk down the street towards the nearest park, when Minato noticed a familiar red head walking off ahead of them.

"Hey!" Minato shouted, grabbing the girl's attention as she turned around to see the group. "Satsuki! Were about to go play ninja at the park. Wanna join?" he asked the girl.

"You... you want me?" asked the redhead, shocked at his kind gesture.

"Yeah sure why not? Ninja is more fun with six anyways. Come on." he said, the whole group smiling at the young orphan.

"O-okay!" she replied blushing and smiling with joy. She ran over to join the group and all six promptly took of running towards the park, racing to see who could get there first.

**_Dear Readers_,**

**Hello there, this is the author. I do hope that you have been enjoying the story so far. I come to you today to request suggestions. I am currently in the process of formulating character designs for the children's twelve year old selves. If any of you have any suggestions please feel free to send me a PM with your thoughts.I would like to keep the hair styles mostly the same but am finding it tricky to design outfits, as fashion is not my forte. **

**Oh and if anyone is wondering of my vision for the current appearances that the 'Rookie Eight' Lee and Neji take on while working, I imagine them looking as they do in one of my favorite deviations on . The title of the deviation is "Future Of Konoha 7" with the exceptions of those that are dead, Ino does not have the facial swirls as she is unmarried, Chouji is not in anbu so he wears more traditional Akimichi garb, Neji's seal is gone, Sai is in his white cloak at all times, and Naruto's and Konohamaru's appearances are completely different than in the piece. Here is the link to help you find it. Simply copy and paste to the address bar then remove all the spaces. http:/ sarutobiscrystalball. deviantart. com/ art/ Future- of- Konoha- 7- 180679931  
><strong>

**Oh, yes and before I forget I am well aware that Lee's name is confusing. It remained in the same order in both the Japanese and English translation so it became a toss-up as to which was his last name and which was his first. I went with Lee for the last name because "Minato Rock" sounded silly. **

_**With Love,**_

**_Danthemanwithaplan7_  
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	3. Chapter 2: Birth of Six Splendid Shinobi

I hope that all who read this find enjoyment in doing so

Still dedicated to my best friend.

I do Not own Naruto. There... I said it...

Chapter 2: The Birth of Six Splendid Shinobi

_Present day at the Konohagakure no Sato Ninja Academy... _

"And so in conclusion class, this example proves the Shodai Hokage's theorem on the conditions that must be met to achieve victory in close quarter combat, where the objective is to protect a target from assault, to be applicable in nearly all cases. Now can anyone tell me how this view differs from Sunagakure's tactical approach in these situations?" The teacher's question was met with silence from the class of student's behind him. Udon stood in front of the wide chalkboard at the front of the classroom, writing on it rapidly while reciting from a textbook in his left hand. "Come now, don't be shy this question is really quite simple an-" His statement was abruptly interrupted by a loud nasal rumble. A tick mark formed on the chunin's forehead as he slammed the book shut. "I'm going to count to three and then turn around, and whoever is sleeping in my classroom had better be awake by then or else there will be consequences for all of you..." The man said, his patience clearly worn paper thin over his years as a teacher.

As the man began to count backwards a young girl sleeping against her desk in the second to front middle row received a slap to the head from a young man sitting in the seat directly in front of her. She immediately sat up and frantically looked around the room in alarm, only to register the counting of her Sensei from the front of the room. She immediately relaxed sat with a bored expression on her face. She wore her black hair in a tight, medium length, spiked ponytail tied at the crown of her head. She wore deep blue vest with light green trim around the hems. Underneath that could be seen netted shinobi under armor, and she wore black cargo shorts with ample pockets that came down to her knees. Across the back of her vest in black was the Nara family crest. From her right a notebook slid across the desk to lay open in front of her, complete with detailed notes on the lecture. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pencil, and laid her arms across the notebook as if she had just finished writing out the notes on it herself. At this point her Sensei reached the count of three and turned around, glaring directly at her. "Shikamari! Would you care to explain why you were just sleeping in my classroom?"

"I wasn't sleeping Sensei." the girl replied in a bored tone. "I was to busy taking notes on your lecture to be asleep."

The tick mark on Udon's forehead grew even larger as he growled his response, "Really? Then would you care to explain how your notes came to be written in ink?" Shikamari blinked in surprise, then looked down and realized that she was holding a pencil and the notes were indeed written in ink.

'Busted.' she thought to herself. 'This is gonna suck.' "Yup. You caught me Udon Sensei." was her intelligent response to her teacher. The man began to rub his temples with his fingers in frustration as a drip began to form hanging from his nose.

"I have lost track of just how many times I have had to tell you this but this time please, PLEASE listen. Stay awake in class!" This statement elicited a chorus of laughter from the classroom at the lazy girls' expense. "We're only two days away from graduation examinations and we don't have class tomorrow. These last minute reviews are vital." Udon then turned to the young girl sitting next to Shikamari. "And Chouma! Stop trying to help Shikamari get away with it. Your acting as an enabler for her bad behavior."

"Like, yes Sensei. Sorry." replied the full-bodied girl sitting on Shikamari's right. Her spiky brunette hair was tied in pigtails that fell down her back all the way to her waist. She wore a blue jacket with red arms and a red hood, and a large red Akimichi crest divide in half by the open zipper of the jacket. She also wore a knee length white skirt, with white biker shorts beneath. With a huff, Udon turned back towards the board and continued on with the review lecture. Shikamari sighed with relief at having gotten off without punishment for her little nap. She turned to her giggling best friend on her right, who had pulled her bag of cookies out from their hiding place beneath the desk. Shikamari smiled and nodded to her, silently conveying her thanks. Chouma simply grinned back then proceeded to place two cookies in her mouth at once. She then turned forward to find the young man who had slapped her into her waking state turned around in his seat smirking at her and throwing her a thumbs up with his four fingered hand.

She smiled back as she rolled her eyes at her easy going friend. The young man had bright pink hair that formed short forward leaning spikes, and large, rectangular pink eyebrows above his green eyes. He wore around the back of his head his precious earmuffs which, as always, covered his ears. His lean, toned arms were bare from the shoulder up to the wrist, where he wore custom made fingerless combat gloves that only had three finger holes along with the thumb hole. His tight fitting bright green tank top covered his torso, with his metal dog tags hanging around his neck by a chain. He sat with one leg crossed over the other in a relaxed and masculine fashion, revealing his _less_ than masculine bright pink leg warmers which covered his shins over top of his black pants. He turned back around to face the front of the classroom and was elbowed in the side playfully by the girl who sat on his left. He rubbed his side with his right hand while he reached over and stole the pencil out of the girls hand in a small act of payback. He waved it in his hand and flashed her a mischievous grin. She simply shrugged and reached into her left sleeve. She immediately pulled another pencil out of said sleeve and waved it in his face while sticking her tongue out at him. He then tried to reach over and snatch this new pencil from her as well, but she placed her free hand on his chest to try and hold him back.

This quickly devolved into the two preteens silently wrestling with each other in their seats over the pencil. The boy was just about to bite the girls' hand which was currently holding him back by his face when he felt a few taps on the shoulder from the red headed girl who sat on his right. These taps were immediately followed by the sound of their Sensei clearing his throat. The two stopped fighting over the pencil and both slowly turned their heads to face forward towards the sound. They found themselves face to face with Udon Sensei as he bent over and glared at them. "Minato... Kushina... how many times do I have t-" His scolding was interrupted immediately by the sound of the bell ringing to announce the end of class.

"Apparently this is officially the last time you have to yell at us for rough housing in class Sensei." Minato remarked sarcastically to his Sensei.

"That's _if_ you pass Minato." Udon replied to the defiant boy in front of him. "Otherwise you will get to repeat you final year. Here. With me."

"Relax Udon Sensei. I know that my test scores were low in class, but have a little faith. You taught us well. I'm sure we will pass with flying colors." Minato replied, seemingly without any trepidation at all about passing graduation. As the two sat in front of their Sensei the other students all began to gather their things and make their way out of the classroom. Shikamari and Chouma got up and strolled out of the room along side their other close friend, a young man with light blond hair which he wore in a short army cut. He wore a tan tee shirt with lighter beige trim around the sleeves and neckline. Underneath that could be seen netted shinobi under armor which extended past his sleeves down to his elbows. His heavy boots thumped across the wood floor and his black slacks had the Yamanaka clan crest emblazoned on the front left thigh and on his right back pocket.

As he and his two female companions passed through the door to leave he turned his head to face the two and shot them a sympathetic look, that could only be described as the way an older brother would look at his siblings as they were scolded by a parent. He then closed his eyes as he faked a yawn and reached his arms into the air. As his fake yawn ended his arms came down to rest across the shoulders of his two best friends on either side of him, as he could be heard remarking 'So girls, I hear there is going to be a new release at the movie theater tonight and I was wondering if-' His simultaneous romantic advance upon both of his best friends was interrupted as both of the girls simultaneously punched him in the gut. He doubled over in pain as they continued walking along without missing a beat, and he could be heard hoarsely whispering 'Never mind.'

"I'm not worried whether you _both_ will pass," Udon continued on with his scolding, oblivious to the glorious failure of one of his students' attempts at procuring a date. "I _know _that Kushina is going to pass. Despite her less than perfect behavioral record she is still top of your class. She is a prodigy." The girl with dark navy hair grinned and lightly blushed at the comment while she rapidly straightened her appearance that was rearranged by the tussle over the pencil. She gave a quick tug on the hem of her black Keikogi top with orange trim on the sleeves, hem, neck and all the way down the center edges. On both shoulders and on the left breast of the Keikogi were bright red Uzumaki crests. She patted the wrinkles out of her black shin length pants, and re-tightened her orange sash wrapped around her to hold her Keikogi top closed. Around her neck could be seen the netted shinobi under armor she wore directly beneath her Keikogi top. She then ran her hands through her spiky locks of dark navy blue, with her short center bangs and long spiky side bangs that framed her face and really emphasized her pale white eyes. With a flick of her wrist she tossed her long spiky waist length ponytail that was tightly tied at the base of her neck by a black band. She then rubbed the back of her head as she continued to grin while she replied,

"Oh I don't know about _prodigy, _I'm just basically your average Uzumaki. I'm sure that my father did just as well at the Academy as I have been." A single large bead of sweat rolled down the side of Minato's face as he looked at his friend with a dry expression. Even after all these years he still could not understand his friend's amazing ability to be both humble and egotistical in the same sentence. Udon stopped for a moment and blinked in surprise at her statement.

"Wait... You don't know?" He asked Kushina in surprise. "I knew your father when I was very young and I know for a fact that your father graduated last in his class." Kushina's jaw dropped and her eyes turned into large blank orbs in shock at learning this about her dad. "As a matter of fact, I believe he failed the graduation examination three times before finally passing, and he only passed because Iruka Sensei allowed him to as a special exemption from failing it a forth time." Remarked Udon as he stroked his chin in thought. At this second revelation Kushina completely fell out of her chair and lay crying on the floor at having her personal vision of her father permanently altered.

Udon then shook himself from his thoughts and turned back to Minato. "But as I was saying, I'm not worried about Kushina passing I'm worried about _you_ passing Minato. You will need to get a nearly perfect score on the written portion of the examination to compensate for you inability to perform any of the three fundamental ninjutsu." Minato crossed his arms and looked to the side with a pout on his face as he replied,

"It's not my fault all three require hand seals to perform." His posture then relaxed as he leaned back in his chair and placed his hands behind his head. He smiled kindly and said, "Besides, didn't Iruka Sensei say that there would be a special exam prepared for me to test my skills beyond my physical differences from other people?" Udon sighed and blew his nose into a tissue before answering his student.

"Yes there will be, but that also means that your exam will be much more difficult than the exam will be for the other students. I'm still in the dark about what exactly your test will entail. So Minato, study _hard_ tomorrow, okay? I really do not want to have you in my class for another year." Minato took on an expression of mock hurt, replying,

"Awwww what's the matter Sensei? You don't like having me around?"

"Minato I'm going to be honest with you, I like you but I just can't _handle_ you anymore. I think that my hair is starting to turn gray from the last five years with you and your friends in my class." Minato chuckled good naturedly at this statement.

"Fair enough Sensei. Don't worry, all six of us are going to pass. In fact I would be willing to place good money on-" Minato was stopped mid-sentence as Kushina shot up from the floor and clasped her hand over his mouth.

"Don't you _Dare_ place a bet on our graduating! You know how your luck is! You have lost every single bet I've ever heard you make. You have _Awful _luck with gambling!" Minato shook her hand off of his mouth and replied angrily,

"I do not! I've just been on a loosing streak for a while that's all. And besides this one is a lock. There is no way any of us are going to fail to pass."

"So long as you don't start betting on us!" she shot back.

"Pfft." was his intelligent response to her statement. Udon shook his head and walked out of the classroom mumbling to himself, bargaining deals with God himself to allow the children to pass so that they will be finally out of his hair. Minato turned and gave a confident grin to his best friend, who reciprocated the look as the two got up from their desks and left the now empty room.

As the two stepped out of the main doors of the academy Minato's face took on a dry, annoyed expression as they looked out at the small crowd of girls waiting around by the entrance to the school and talking excitedly to each other. One of them who had apparently been keeping an eye on the door let loose a stifled scream, thus alerting all of the others to their emergence from the school. They all turned and proceeded to rush Minato, crowding around him and fighting for his attention. Minato tried in vain to escape from the crowd, calling out to his friend for help. Kushina tried to reach through the crowd to grab her friend and pull him free, but was continually blocked and eventually knocked to the ground by the writhing mass of fan girls.

"Damn it! Help!" cried out Minato as he began to sink down into the crowd, pulled down by the mass as they fought each other to try and have him all to themselves. Eventually only one of his arms remained visible above the mass as it flailed and reached out for assistance. Suddenly, down from above dropped a shinobi wire with a loop tied on its end. It fell into Minato's grasp and he readily grabbed a hold of it. A few gentle tugs confirmed his firm grasp, then the wire violently pulled upwards, pulling Minato along with it, freeing him from the crowd. He was raised up to the edge of the roof of the academy and quickly pulled himself up onto it. He laid down next to the edge panting as he turned to see who saved him from such a fate. There on the roof sat Chouma, Shikamari, and Inoko all holding onto the other end of the wire, and grinning like fools with pride at their flawless rescue operation. He smiled right back at them saying, "Thanks guys. You saved my ass back there. Now do you have a plan to get them to go away?" Shikamari smirked and said,

"That plan is already in action. Were gonna leave it up to her to get them to disperse." giving a nod towards the tree in front on the academy.

The fan girls all cried out protest up towards the roof, begging Minato to come back down to them. Then a girl leapt down from the branches of the tree, landing next to the crowd. Every girl in the crowd then froze. Her piercing black eyes attempted to drill holes into the back of the girls' skulls. She had bright scarlet hair that fell down in long straightened locks, parted on the middle left of her face and tucked around her ears, that reached down to her middle back. A single lock lay out of place on her face, tucked behind her ear and drifting only slightly against her brow. The only portion of her hair that was not straight was a shorter patch of hair against the back of her head, which stood out directly adjacent to the rest of her hair. She reached up and ran her thumbs under the large flat laying collar on her button down jacket. The jacket was black but for the gray trim around the edges of its' collar, folded back sleeves, and the pockets on the breast and waist of the jacket. She wore black biker shorts that fell to her mid thigh and a short gray skirt on top of them. She impatiently clacked her gray shinobi sandals on the ground as she crossed her arms under her chest and glared at the crowd. The girls slowly turned around towards the young woman, with fear written all over their faces. A tick mark appeared on the girls' forehead as she spoke angrily to the crowd. "Leave Minato alone you harpies! As if any of you have a shot with him anyways! He isn't attracted to useless girls who will never in a million years have what it takes to be proper Konoha kunoichi!So disperse! Before I start to get mad..." The girls scattered like leaves in a strong wind, all turning tail and fleeing from the furious red head.

Minato and the others all leapt down from the roof and smiled at the girl as Kushina pushed herself up from the ground and patted the dirt off of her Keikogi. "Thanks for getting rid of them Satsuki. I owe you one for helping to save me. I really didn't want to have to fight my way out of there and hurt those girls in the process."

Satsuki turned towards Minato with a bright blush across her cheeks and rushed at him, wrapping both of her arms tightly around him and rubbing her face in his neck.

"It was nothing Minato-kun. You know I would do anything for you. Anything at all. Your so kind and compassionate for not wanting to hurt those awful girls who were harassing you. And I have the perfect way for you to repay me!" She then looked at him with stars in her eyes saying, "You can take me out for diner tonight, I know the perfect little restaurant on the other side of town and-"

"Satsuki!"

"Yes Minato-kun?"

"Would you kindly let go of me?" he asked with a dry look. She immediately let go of him and began apologizing.

"Sorry. Sorry. So so Sorry. I didn't make you uncomfortable did I?"

"Satsuki! You don't need to apologize. And no, I am not going to diner with you. Were just friends remember? Just. Friends."

"Right right. Got it. Totally understand. Just friends, yup. Just two friend. Two of the best friends in the world. Just hanging out." Minato sighed deeply, already exhausted by his red haired friend.

"Good job there Suki! I would have done the same but apparently those girls are not afraid of me the same way they are of you." Said Kushina as she shot the red head a smile. Satsuki returned the smile with a glare.

"Whatever." she dismissively said to the pale eyed girl. Kushina immediately responded to Satsuki's rude comment with an angry glare, a tick mark forming on her forehead.

"What exactly is your problem? Why are you always such a bitch to me?" Satsuki slid over into Kushina's face and returned the angry glare, their foreheads practically touching from their proximity to each other.

"What's _my _problem? What's your problem? Why do you always have to say things like that? Always acting _so_ superior just because your dad was the Rokudaime. Big deal! And your always hanging all over Minato you whore! Back off he is spoken for!"

"What the hell did you say? My father was a great man! And I do not hang all over Minato! He is just my best friend! You crazy bitch!"

"Oh I'll show you crazy you whore!"

"You wanna go? I'll give you a front row seat to a good old fashioned Uzumaki ass whooping!"

"Oh get over yourself!"

"Girls!" Minato shouted as he slid between the two to try and stop their incessant fighting. They began to push towards each other, ready to fight so Minato pushed them apart with his arms. He stood there holding them apart at arms length as they shot cold glares at one another over his shoulders. "Really now? Why can't you two ever get along? You have all the same friends as each other and the group would be much more peaceful and relaxed if we didn't have to keep you two apart whenever we all go somewhere together. This is ridiculous!" Suddenly both girls stopped glaring and stared at one another blankly, blinking repeatedly. Minato blinked in surprise, 'That speech never stopped them from fighting before.' he thought in confusion. Slowly both girls looked downwards, prompting Minato to follow their gazes before realizing what had happened and turning as red as a tomato. In his efforts to hold them apart both of his hands had come to accidentally lay upon one of each girls small budding breasts. Their three other friends stood in shock as well, Shikamari and Chouma were bright red and Inoko had a look of blank incredulity on his face. For a moment everything was completely silent. Then Kushina let out a blood curdling shriek and punched Minato square in the jaw, knocking him a good four feet away before he came crashing back down to the ground. Her face was bright red and angry as she proceeded to stomp on him as he tried to block her attacks from the ground.

"You pervert! I have half a mind to tell my Uncles on you! Uncle Shino would have his bugs freaking eat your ass for that you pervert!"

"I swear to God it was an accident! An accident! I would never do that to you on purpose I swear!"

"Oh, what! So now I'm too ugly for your tastes is that it? Freakin' pervert!" Satsuki stood there with her hands on her bright red cheeks, shaking her head violently from left to right.

"Oh, Minato-kun. This is so forward. We are to young for this kind of thing."

"It. Was. An. Accident!" Minato shouted at her while being mercilessly beaten by his best friend.

"Wow... that was... wow." was all Shikamari could say, still in shock.

"Like... is she going to kill him? Should we, like, do something?" asked Chouma, equally in shock.

"Minato... you are seriously my hero. Way to cop a feel!" shouted Inoko, tears of pride and jealousy streaming down his face.

"Not helping Inoko! And it was an accident!" Minato shouted at his friend, feeling betrayed by his fellow male. At this stage of the beating Minato had apparently decided to accept his fate and merely clung onto his earmuffs as he was beaten to a pulp by Kushina. Satsuki had apparently fainted from embarrassment and the other three seemed to hold no interest in stopping the lynching Minato was receiving.

_Later that evening..._

"Oh my God, Minato what happened?" asked a very shocked and worried Mrs. Lee upon seeing her son after he had finally made his way home.

"I... don't really want to talk about it..." replied the young man whose face and arms were swollen with bruises the size of tangerines.

_Two days later..._

"And time! Please put down your pencils and turn over your answer sheets so that they are facing down." said the chunin proctor of the written portion of the ninja academy graduation exam. Minato whistled and leaned back in his seat, his hands behind his head. 'Too easy.' he thought to himself with a smirk. He looked around the room to find it filled with nervous looking youths, all appearing to feel that they had done poorly. All except for six faces in particular that is. He noticed that Kushina, Satsuki, Shikamari, Chouma, and Inoko all shared his confident grin. 'Yes. Looks like they all thought is was easy too. Now all we have to do is pass the practical and were home free.' "Please stand and leave the room. Leave your exams on the desks as they will be collected later. Do not touch any of the exam sheets now that the test is over." said the proctor. "Form an orderly line in the hallway outside of this room in order of alphabetical progression based upon last names. Minato Lee, report to the training field behind the academy." 'Yes. So it looks like it is going to be based on my physical prowess. Looks like all of Dad's insane training is finally going to pay off.' Minato stood and gave a confident nod to all of his friends, all of whom smiled back, as he left down the hall to make his way to the training field.

"You think he is going to pass?" asked Shikamari, "I mean at least we all had the option of studying for our practical. He has no idea what his is going to be so he had no way of studying."

"He will be fine. I'm sure he can pass whatever they throw at him." Said Kushina, who was very confident in her best friends' abilities.

"Yeah, there is no way that Minato-kun could fail his practical. He is too talented, and strong, and smart, and hansom, and-"

"Enough, we get it, you like Minato." Said Kushina in an annoyed tone.

"Jealous?" she replied in a confident tone.

"As if." said Kushina, rolling her eyes.

As Minato reached the training field he saw that the only person that was there waiting for him was the principal of the academy. "Hey Iruka Sensei. I'm here to pass my practical." the older man laughed at Minato's statement,

"That's some confidence you have there. So you're not here to _take _the practical, your here to _pass_ the practical."

"Exactly." Minato replied, smirking.

"Well then, let's begin shall we? Your practical shall be a test of your ability to perform complicated, and delicate operations without the assistance of ninjutsu or genjutsu, as you are physically incapable of using the vast majority of either." 'Ugh... it's going to be a test of wit? I was sure it was going to be a physical test. Damn it.' thought Minato to himself. Iruka chuckled at Minato's visible disappointment. "Don't be so down, this test is very much a physical one as well as a mental one. It will take both to complete." he smirked as he continued on with his explanation. He pulled from its hiding place behind himself an ornate tea kettle and held it in both hands. "Your objective is to take this _porcelain_ tea pot from me. To keep it away from your clutches I will do everything that is necessary to test your skills appropriately." Iruka smiled at how clever he thought himself to be. 'This kid is going to find it much harder than he thinks to get this tea pot from me. I'm not the principal of this academy for nothing.' Minato stared at the pot, with a pondering look on his face.

"That tea pot? Looks heavy, pretty durable. I can probably just charge in headfirst and take it." Iruka laughed at Minato's statement, 'This kid really shouldn't reveal his plans to his opponents.'

"Oh no Minato, I assure you it is very light and fragile, attacking to strongly risks breaking it, and if that happens you fail."

"No way. That thing, light? I don't believe you. It looks heavy." Minato said, the same pondering look on his face. 'This kid isn't as smart as I pegged him to be. How could he possibly refute its weight with me? I'm holding it.' "You really don't strike me as being that good at guessing weight from holding things." said Minato, face unchanging.

"What? Of course I can tell if something is heavy or not!" 'Little brat!'

"Really? Here let me see."

"Fine! See for yourself, it is very light and fragile." 'This will show that brat!' Iruka walked over to Minato and was about to place the tea pot into his hands when his jaw dropped and the situation dawned on him. Seeing this, Minato instantly dropped the 'pondering' act and his face shifted to a look of focus. He rushed forward and tried to pluck the pot from Iruka's hands, but having realized Minato's plot, Iruka leapt backwards away from him, holding the pot behind his back. 'That kid almost tricked me into handing it to him outright! I must be going senile to have let that one get by me.' Iruka thought to himself. 'Damn, almost had him. Oh well, never really thought that that plan would even get as far as it did. It was basically a shot in the dark.' thought Minato as he pursued his Sensei across the yard. "You'll have to do better than that Minato!" said Iruka as he fled across the yard at what was for him a fairly leisurely jog. "I'm faster than you are so you might want to change tactic." shouted Iruka over his shoulder, laughing to himself. Minato noticed Iruka close his eyes as he laughed and took that opportunity. He pushed forward, unveiling an entirely new speed as he almost instantly caught up to his Sensei. Iruka's eyes opened to see Minato about to pluck the pot from his arms. 'What? He sure is fast for a rookie! Well, it should be no surprise considering who his father is.' Iruka thought. "Close Minato, but I warned you about the head on approach. You see the beauty of this exercise is that while your goal is to protect the tea pot, mine is not!" Iruka then flung the tea pot forwards across the field. 'Sorry Minato, but you shouldn't have tried the straight forward approach, you were better off trying to trick me. That thing will shatter on impact with the ground.' thought Iruka to himself. Minato never missed a beat as he proceeded to jump forward and to the side, flipping and turning on his side. Iruka was taken by surprise as Minato planted his feet on Iruka's chest and kicked off of his Sensei's moving body. Iruka had the wind knocked out of him, as he was caught completely off guard by Minato's surprise attack. The kick launched Minato forward very quickly, allowing him to fly through the air like a kunai. He caught up to the rapidly descending tea kettle and wrapped his arms around it before he came down to the earth. He rolled and tumbled on the hard ground to keep the pot from breaking, allowing the force to be distributed into injuring his body instead of the pot. Iruka, who had been knocked down by Minato's kick, stood up to find Minato laying on the group proudly holding up the pot, a massive grin plastered on his face.

"I passed! Right Iruka Sensei?" 'This kid is good. Well I guess I shouldn't have underestimated the direct approach.' thought Iruka as he chuckled to himself.

"That's right Minato. You sure did." Minato beamed at Iruka.

"Thanks Iruka Sensei, that was almost fun. Well... almost." Iruka simply laughed harder.

"Art of the Doppelganger!" shouted out Kushina, her hands rapidly forming the Ram seal, then the Snake seal, then the Tiger seal. In a poof of smoke an exact replica of Kushina stood next to her in front of the three exam proctors. She grinned at herself, pleased with her own handiwork.

"An excellent clone. Thank you miss Uzumaki, you may leave. Next Inoko Yamanaka." Kushina nodded and dispelled her clone before the door opened and Inoko walked into the room. He and Kushina exchanged a high five as she left the room and Inoko turned to the proctors. Once in the hallway Kushina closed the door behind herself and turned to her friends who stood there waiting. She grinned from ear to ear and flashed them a peace sign in victory. They all smiled and nodded.

_Later in the classroom..._

"Wow Minato, your so lucky! You test actually sounds hard! All I had to do was make a clone." pouted Kushina at her friend as they sat next to each other in their usual seats.

"I think it is wonderful to hear that you did so well Minato-kun!" Said Satsuki from Minato's other side.

"Thanks girls. Now if only the proctor would come in and tell us what we already know so we could get this over with." Said Minato, basking in the glow of his own success. As if on cue, the door opened and in walked the proctor from the written portion of the exam carrying a medium sized wooden box. He laid the box down on the teachers' desk and opened it, revealing its' contents to be shiny, new Konoha headbands.

"Alright. The tests have been scored, and the practical scores have been tallied. I will now proceed to announce those that have passed. Those names that I call out, please step forward to receive your headband to officially become Konoha genin." The eyes of every single person in that room lit up with hope. "We will begin with the highest scoring student, this years 'Rookie of the Year.' And the top scorer was..." Kushina crossed her fingers, as did several other students. "Kushina Uzumaki."

"YES! Woo hoo! That is what it means to be an Uzumaki!" shouted Kushina in glee as she ran forward to the front of the room. The proctor laughed and pulled a headband from the box. He bowed to Kushina and placed it in her hands. She ran back to her seat and clutched it to her chest tightly.

"Well?" asked Chouma. "Are you, like, gonna put it on?"

"Not yet! I want all of us to put them on at the same time. That way we all become genin together." replied Kushina.

"Whatever." said Satsuki, slightly brooding that she had not made top score.

"I think that it's a great idea." said Minato to Kushina.

"I completely agree Minato-kun! It sounds wonderful." Satsuki said, in a shameless flip from her earlier position on the proposition. And so, one by one all six were called up to receive their headbands. In total, around twelve students received headbands. The others all looked incredibly disappointed. Some were clearly going to drop out after this failure, and proceed to lead normal civilian lives. Others looked stubborn enough to try and pass the next examination. The six all gathered together in a circle, all staring at the headbands in their hands.

"Ready everyone?" asked Kushina.

"Yes!" they all replied simultaneously.

"On three then." said Kushina. "One.

"Two." said Minato.

"Three!" said Satsuki. And with that they all tied their headbands to their persons. Minato and Kushina both tied their headbands around their heads in the traditional manner. Satsuki tied her headband so that it hung loosely around her neck like a necklace. Inoko tied his around his forehead, but tied the knot in such a manner that it was above his left temple, allowing the dangling fabric to hang next to his face. Chouma tied her headband around her right shoulder, unrolling the fabric to form a kind of blue shoulder guard, and Shikamari tied hers around her waist like a belt. They all basked in the glow of the moment before Kushina let off the cry,

"Alright! We did it! Were shinobi!"

_**Dear Readers,**_

**Hello again, I continue to hope that you all are enjoying this story. I'm going to try to start updating weekly but... as it says on my profile... I'm lazy. So I may or may not keep to the schedule. Please, if you like the story or have and any thoughts, suggestions, or questions feel free to drop it in a review. I make it a policy of mine to personally respond to all my reviews, so no review will go unanswered. I am also open to submissions of Original Characters, although I cannot make any promises that they will make it into the series as it will be at my discression as to relevance to plot. Please submit these Charcters via Private Message as opposed to review. Enjoy the weather outside! All weather is good weather. It just depends on how you look at it. Peace.**

**P.S. Dear Readers! I have fanart of my genin! Go to my profile page to find the links for each character!  
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_**Love,**_

_**Danthemanwithaplan7**_


	4. Chapter 3: New Life to an Orphan Shinobi

**Screw the schedule. I want to make a new chapter now damn it, and no schedule is going to stop me. **

I hope that all who read this find enjoyment in doing so

Still dedicated to my best friend.

I do Not own Naruto. But if I did... well... honestly I would probably still kill off Naruto... Meh. I like tragedies.

Chapter 3: A New Life for an Orphan Shinobi

The proctor looked out over the classroom. His heart was filled with pride at the site of the twelve graduates celebrating their success. Six in particular seemed to be particularly close to one another as they exchanged hugs and tears of joy. One, a rather large bodied girl with pinwheel tattoos on her cheeks, was even passing around a bag of what he overheard to be 'celebratory cookies.' He knew however that this elation would be cut short tomorrow when the truth of the situation was revealed to the twelve, and that this year only half of them would be able to keep their headbands. "Alright then, graduates report to this room at eleven o'clock tomorrow morning to be assigned to teams of three and to meet your jounin sensei. Those who failed please go to the academy main office and indicate whether or not you will be attempting to retake the graduation examination. You are all dismissed." He watched as five of the six friends leapt out of the building through the windows rather than use the door, the sixth of whom said that using the window was to 'troublesome' and simple sauntered out the door like all the others. He laughed to himself.

Outside the academy Kushina and the others waited for Shikamari to make her way outside the long way. Kushina kept reaching up and touching her headband, her grin so wide that it was threatening to do permanent damage to her face. Minato seemed to be trying to figure out a way to wear his headband so that the fabric would cover his ears. He eventually became frustrated and with an annoyed grunt gave up and resigned himself to keeping his earmuffs. Kushina suddenly found herself once again wondering why Minato always had those earmuffs on. A few years ago she had asked him about it, but he had simply told her that his ears got cold easily. She was no fool, but she had decided at the time that if he did not want to tell her that it was not her place to pry. The thought also occurred to her that she had never once seen him without them on. She was about to try talking to Minato about it again when Shikamari walked out of the academy and they all ran over to her. She decided to approach the topic another time and simply joined her friends.

"So," Kushina started, addressing the group collectively, "are you all thinking what I'm thinking?"

"You know it." replied Minato with a smirk. The others all smiled as they nodded their agreement.

"Alright then! It's decided! We celebrate with a trip too-"

"Ichiraku's!" Chouma, Kushina, Minato and Inoko all shouted at the same time. Satsuki laughed and clapped at Minato's excitement, and Shikamari sighed, looking down and shaking her head in embarrassment. Satsuki then stopped laughing and she turned to the group, blushing and looking at her feet as she said,

"Well that sounds really fun guys but... I kind of have some things to take care of... so I can't join you. Sorry Minato-kun." Minato blinked in surprise, then he and all the others took on looks of thought.

"Well..." started Chouma, "it, like, wouldn't seem right to go without you."

"Yeah," continued Minato "what kind of things do you need to take care of?" Satsuki blinked in surprise as her blush deepened. She looked down and to the left as she said rather quietly,

"Well it's... stuff over at the orphanage..."

"It's decided then." said Kushina.

"Right," agreed Inoko, "we will just have to go with you as you take care of your business, then we can all go to Ichiraku's together afterward." He and all the others grinned at Satsuki, who started giggling with joy, her blush quickly fading,

"Really? You guys would do that for me?"

"Of course, like, what kind of friends would we be to leave you out of the celebrating?" said Chouma. Satsuki did a quick bow to all of her friends and said,

"Thank you all so much! Minato-kun you especially." she blushed as she directed this special thanks to her crush, who simply shrugged in response. "The orphanage is this way, follow me." she leaped up onto the roof of a nearby single story building and started making her way up to the Konoha rooftops. The others all followed and soon all six were leaping from roof to roof across Konoha towards the orphanage.

"Miss Harumi! I'm back! And my friends are here with me too if that's okay." Satsuki shouted down the corridor on the groups' right as they all came in the front door of the orphanage. The others looked around at the building, poking around to satisfy their curiosity about their friends foster home. A woman rounded the corner who looked to be well into her sixties and had short, very curly gray hair. She wore a pair of modest glasses that complimented eyes, and her face was one that aged with grace in such a way that the wrinkles seemed to be an outward expression of wisdom more than of age. She wore a simple, modest green dress, and a gray apron over top of it. She walked hand in hand with two toddlers, both of which seemed to cling to her gentle grasp for a sense of security around the five strangers standing in their midst. Running in front of Miss Harumi as she rounded the corner was a little girl with light brunette hair who looked to be about eight years old, the little girl screamed,

"Suki-aneki! Your back! Did you do it? Did you pass? Who are these people? Wooooow your fat! Your eyes are all pale ,are you blind? Why do you have so many pockets? Your face looks kinda funny. Oh! Is this the big eyebrows guy?" At this point the child statements had Chouma crying self-consciously, Kushina glaring directly at her to demonstrate that she could in fact see perfectly fine, Shikamari looking down at her shorts in surprise, Inoko staring blankly in shock, and Minato was angrily running his thumb over his left eyebrow whispering 'Big eyebrows guy? Little brat... they aren't that big...'

Satsuki's face turned the same color as her hair as she clamped her hand down over the little girls' mouth to silence her. She leaned close to the child's ear and angrily whispered, "Yes Inoue, this is the guy, yes I passed, and yes, you _did_ just hurt all of my friends feelings. Now they are all going to hate me!" The little girl looked up at Satsuki with her big brown eyes and mumbled a guilt ridden, 'I'm sorry' into Satsuki's hand. Satsuki huffed and turned back to face Minato with an apologetic smile and said, "I'm sooo sorry Minato-kun! I have no idea why she called you 'the eyebrows guy' I swear! She has no filter, you know how little girls are ha ha ha. No but you don't need to worry at all, your eyebrows aren't too big! They are perfect, and you look so hansom with them! Have I told you that yet today? By the way you look really cute in your new headband Minato-kun. I-"

"Satsuki! It's okay, I'm not mad at you." Minato said gruffly, "I'm _mad_ at her!" he shouted furiously as he attempted to attack the child, only to be held back by the combined might of Shikamari, Inoko and Kushina.

"You can't attack her Minato! She is just a little girl! We all have to just let it go." Said Kushina as she struggled to hold Minato back from assaulting the child.

"Inoue! Apologize to these nice young people right this instant! You know to treat people with more respect than that young lady!" Miss Harumi authoritatively scolded Inoue. Despite her tone, they all still felt like the nanny exuded nothing but love and kindness. The child looked at her feet and said,

"I'm sorry everyone. I didn't mean to upset Satsuki's friends." Minato huffed and stopped trying to maul the little girl, prompting the others to release him from their hold. Chouma immediately stopped crying and smiled at the child.

"Like, apology accepted. Want a cookie?" Chouma said as she offered forward one of her bags of cookies towards the child. The other five all stood in blank shock at how quickly Chouma forgave the child who excitedly reached forward to partake of Chouma's offer.

"Ah ah ah. No cookies Inoue deary. You'll spoil your appetite for diner." kindly reminded Miss Harumi, causing the little girl to stare at the floor dejectedly as she retracted her hand. "So Satsuki, congratulations deary!" the older woman excitedly cooed at the red head. "It looks like you and all of your friends passed the graduation exams!" Kushina, Inoko, Chouma, and Satsuki began beaming with pride and collectively adjusted their new headbands as they acclimated to the feel of wearing them, while Shikamari and Minato confidently smirked. "I guess this means that you're here about _that_ aren't you." said Miss Harumi with a mixture of pride and sadness. Satsuki looked at her feet and nodded in affirmation. "Well, let's go get the paperwork done quickly then so that you and your friends can go out and celebrate yes?" The others all nodded excitedly, as Satsuki continued to stare at her toes. They all followed the nanny as she dropped the other children off into a common area, then lead the six into an organized office further down the hall. She opened a drawer and pulled out several sheets of paperwork, instructing Satsuki where to sign and initial. Satsuki followed the directions slowly, as the others looked on with curiosity as to what was going on. Kushina leaned over Satsuki's shoulder, earning an angry glare from the girl for such an intrusive action, and read aloud the documents' heading,

"Orphan Graduate Living Accommodations Inheritance?" The others all looked surprised at the revelation as she continued, "Wait, so your going to inherit a house or something for graduating?"

"No, not a house child, an apartment. This is an act that the Rokudaime designed when he established this orphanage. It gives full legal independence and free fully furnished apartments to orphans who graduate from the academy without being adopted. He believed that if an orphan felt compelled to fight and risk their life for sake of the village then they deserved something back from the village." answered Miss Harumi in a warm tone. Satsuki looked at the woman who had raised her, on the verge of tears after the explanation was said aloud. Miss Harumi turned and embraced Satsuki in a hug and said, "But that does not mean that we are abandoning you deary. You will always have a very very special place in my heart. And you are always welcome in this home. Whenever you need us, we will be here for you. We are your family here Suki. Don't ever forget that." The five visitors smiled warmly at the gentle embrace, Inoko was fighting back tears from the touching speech, and Satsuki's smile returned to her as she returned the hug.

"Now deary, you are not receiving just _any _apartment." she said as she pulled a set of keys from another drawer in the desk. "This is a very _special_ apartment that was reserved for you when you first came to us all those years ago." Satsuki looked surprised at this and her eyes asked Miss Harumi to elaborate. "You see deary, the Rokudaime took a _particular_ interest in you when you were found outside of the village gates as an infant. He brought you here himself, gave you your name, and told me that there was something very very _special_ about you, that he could simply tell this by your aura." All six of the new shinobi looked completely surprised by this revelation, but none more so than Satsuki. "This apartment was chosen to be given to you by him. It is very old, and was in one of the very few buildings that survived the village's destruction right before the start of the Great War. Not a soul has lived in it in all the years since, and it is now yours." She placed the keys into Satsuki's hands and patted them closed gently.

"But Miss Harumi, I'm not supposed to the get the keys for two more days. We need to wait for the paperwork to go through don't we?" Miss Harumi winked at the girl,

"We don't need to worry about any of that with you deary, trust me. Now go, get your things and have your friends help you move them over to the apartment. Here is the address and some directions." She handed a sheet of paper with detailed directions from the orphanage to the apartment to Minato, who took it and began looking them over in curiosity. "Go on now, go." she shooed them out of the office and closed the door behind them, leaving them alone in the orphanage hallway. They all stared quizzically at Satsuki, who pushed her index fingers together and blushed.

"So you were found and named by my Dad?" asked Kushina.

"I really didn't know any of those things that she told us back there. It's kind of cool to know that the Rokudaime named me and all but I don't know why or how he would come to think I was special."

"I know how. My Dad was a sage, which meant he could sense the chakra of others. He must have felt strong chakra in you and just known that you would make a good shinobi." said Kushina with certainty and a smile.

"... anyways... would you guys help me move my stuff out? I don't have much other than my clothes so it won't be to hard I promise."

"Psh." responded Shikamari, "Please, we would help you even if it was going be hard." they all laughed in agreement as Satsuki continued to blush. They made their way to the long dormitory room where she and many others slept in rows of bunk-beds. She led them to the first bed on the left, which she shared with nobody and quickly gathered a few things and packed them neatly into the trunk at the foot of the bunk. She clasped it closed and before she could lift it herself, Minato and Inoko reached over and carried it between them by the two side handles. They smiled at her as she shyly smiled at Minato,

"T-thank you Minato-kun. Your so generous." Inoko stared at his feet gloomily at being forgotten, while Minato shrugged off her thanks and simply smiled. They all set out across Konohas' rooftops with Kushina leading the way, directions in hand. They came to a fairly long, yet surprisingly narrow apartment building near the edge of Konoha. They climbed the outdoor stairs to the correct floor and walked beneath the overhanging roof towards the long side of the building. They found themselves outside of a doorway that was just around the corner on the long side of the building. The walkway was nestled very close to the wall of the next building over, so close in fact that the walkway ran nearly up to the edge of that other building allowing only a few inches to separate the two. Satsuki double checked the address before slipping the key into the lock and turning it. The lock smoothly clicked open and the door creaked as she pushed it inwards.

The six looked into the apartment to find that the doorway opened up into a small kitchen area with wooden flooring and green walls. They all made their way inside and took off their shoes as they looked around. Satsuki felt along the wall on their left and located the light switch, turning it to the one position. Immediately two light bulbs in the ceiling lit up, only to burn out with audible pops in the exact same instant. The kitchen was indeed furnished, but sparsely. The largest piece of furniture in the room was the bare wooden table in the middle, which was big enough only for two people and had only two chairs. The kitchen had a positively ancient refrigerator, an aluminum sink, and an old plug in hotplate which appeared to be broken from sheer age. The kitchen did however have a very pleasant view out of its curtain-less two pane window, which looked out over a majority of Konoha fairly unobstructed. Satsuki walked to the door on their right as Chouma opened the refrigerator, and Inoko looked in the small cabinets over top of the sink and counter. Both were empty, and Chouma remarked that based on how warm the fridge was that the power had only just been turned back on for this apartment.

Satsuki opened the door on the right to reveal a room that was narrow in the direction she was facing but extended long on her left. Directly across from the door she just opened was another door, and the rest of the room which was on her left was comprised of a tiled washroom. It had a sink with a mirror above it, a toilet, and a shower of comfortable size. She continued on as her friends followed her through the next doorway. This second doorway lead into a bedroom of equal size to the kitchen. On their left was a bed, size single, with no sheets on it in a modest bedframe. Above the head of the bed, nailed to the wall was a large piece of fabric with the Konoha symbol in the middle and surrounded by several smaller kanji in the corners of the square fabric. On their right was a dresser, and at the foot of the bed a wardrobe leaned against the wall. Satsuki flipped the light switch on their left, and this time the lights did not immediately burn out, but instead revealed the thick layer of dust that lay over everything in the room. This room also had a two pane window with an view out over Konoha that was equally as lovely as the view from the kitchen.

"Well it's not much, but at least the view is nice." said Inoko sensing from Satsuki's silence that she may be disappointed with her new living arrangements. She was quiet for a moment, her eyes hidden behind her bangs, before responding,

"What are you talking about? This place..." she suddenly looked up at them all, causing Inoko to jump from surprise. "Is amazing! It's so big! And it's all for me? I get all this space to myself?" She had stars in her eyes as she excitedly spun around with her arms out to take in the space. Drops of sweat rolled down the sides of the other fives faces as they realized that she had no idea how crappy of an apartment this truly was. Then they all simply smiled, as none of them had the heart to tell her that and spoil it for her.

"Well it is nice but it needs to be thoroughly cleaned before you can unpack. And we will need to get you a few things for it as well." said Shikamari as she appraised the apartment.

"What more could I possibly need?" asked a confused Satsuki, clearly inexperienced with living outside of a dormitory full of beds.

"Well for starters-" started Shikamari, only to be cut off by an excited Chouma.

"Don't you worry about a thing! Like, just go out for a little bit and come back later tonight! We will fix this place right up for you and, like, get you everything you need before you come back. Think of it as a house warming present from all of us."

"We will?" said Kushina, clearly disappointed that their earlier plans for Ichiraku were apparently going to be abandoned.

"Why not. I don't think she even knows what this place is missing anyways so it would probably be for the best for us to handle it." said Minato, arms behind his head as he looked up at the dusty ceiling fan. "And we can borrow the cleaning supplies we will need from our parents and ask them to help by paying for all of the things she will need since she can't pay for them herself yet. Until we start doing missions she won't have any money. Do you have to cover the electric or water bills?"

"Nope." replied a blushing Satsuki to Minato. "The way things are supposed to be set up, the village will pay for those things for the first year I live here. But I do have to pay for my own food." she then looked around at all of her friends and asked rather shyly, "Are you guys really willing to do all this for me? I mean it hardly seems fair for me to ask any of you to do this."

"Then, like, it's a good thing you didn't ask." said Chouma with a grin.

"Besides you don't have a choice in the matter." said Inoko playfully. Satsuki looked at all of her grinning friends, all of the people that cared about her. Tears of joy began to form at the corners of her eyes.

"Thank you. Thank you all so much. I... I-"

"Ah that's enough." said Kushina with a smile. "You don't need to cry for us. Your our friend, even if you are a bitch sometimes, and these are the kinds of things friends do for each other."

Satsuki gave Kushina a playful glare as she wiped the tears away, saying, "Well that's awfully nice of you, you know for a whore." Kushina playfully glared back.

"Alright out you go. Out. Everyone lets divvy up what she needs so that we all ask our parents to make equal financial contributions. Then we will figure out who will clean what." said Shikamari, taking control of the situation. It fell to Minato to gently shoo Satsuki out of the apartment, since they all knew she couldn't bring herself tell him no. She blushed at his gentle touch and turned to speak just as he closed the door behind her. She looked around and decided to send the afternoon at the park since her friends had decided to kick her out of her new apartment.

_Later that night..._

Satsuki made her way down the street towards her new apartment, deciding that they must be finished by now since nobody came to get her all afternoon. As the sun set over Konoha, she ascended the stairs to her front door and turned the handle once she reached it. As she opened the door suddenly there was a shout,

"Surprise!" shouted all five of her friends from the kitchen. Satsuki nearly fell backwards from shock at the sudden shout, but quickly regained her composure and stood in awe of the difference in her home's appearance. They all stood around the table which now had a white tablecloth over it with blue trim. Scarlet red curtains hung next to the window and a decorative gray rug covered the floor under the table. Around the rugs' edges the wood floor sparkled, as did the surfaces of the cabinets, sink, and the brand new, rather expensive looking, hotplate that sat on her sparkling clean counter. The light bulbs had been replaced, and lit the room well. In the formerly empty corner of the room sat a rather vibrant looking potted plant. Chouma and Inoko ran up and wrapped Satsuki in a tight group hug, as she attempted to find the words that escaped her. Minato openned one of the cabinets to show of the full set of brand new dishes and silverware that they now housed. Kushina openned the low cabinets to display it to be stocked with all the cleaning supplies she would need. Chouma grabbed Satsuki's hands and lead her through the bathroom with sparkling clean surfaces and deep blue towels hanging from the formerly empty racks. Chouma pushed her through into her bedroom as the others followed in tow with large grins on their faces.

She found herself once again on the verge of tears as she looked around her room. The fabric that had hung from the wall was now in a green frame, and sheets of red and gray dressed her bed. Another rug was in this room, this one black. A potted flower rested on top of her sparkling clean dresser and a large mirror hung from the wall above the dresser. Blue curtains hug over the windows, and in the formerly barren corner of the room sat a brand new television of modest size. "Oh... oh my God. This is... you all..." Satsuki struggled to describe what they had done for her as tears of joy flowed down her face. They all gathered around her and formed a group hug as she thanked them all repeatedly.

"Stop it now. Like, no more tears. Here lets, like, help you put away your clothes. Shikamari cleaned out the dresser and Minato did the wardrobe."

"I did?" said Minato is surprise.

"I should hope so. It was on your list." said Shikamari.

"Oh... well... no problem I'll just do it now." he said with a shrug as he walked over to the wardrobe and opened it. He looked in it for a moment before saying, "Wait, what's this stuff?" he bent down and picked a few dusty objects off of the bottom of the wardrobe, prompting the others to stop putting clothes in the dresser and come investigate. He held in one hand a small frame, thickly coated in dust, and in the other an old dusty book. He handed the frame off to Kushina who took it and began to wipe dust from the glass, as he read aloud the title of the book. "The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, by Jiraya... aww the last name is illegible."

"Holy shit!" shouted out Kushina as she was finally able to get a good look behind the dust at the photo in the frame. "This is... my Dad!" All six dropped what they were doing and rushed around her to look at the photograph. The photo was taken outdoors and leaves from branches covered the top half of it's background. There were four people in the photo, three children and an adult. The adult wore a green Konoha combat vest and leaned over the other three. His hands rested on the heads of the two children on either side of the third child. A blue mask covered his face and a Konoha head band hung diagonally across his forehead, covering his left eye. He looked at the camera with, from what they could tell from the single exposed portion of his face his right eye, was an embarrassed smile. White spiky hair of moderate length topped his head.

"And that is the Hokage! Back when he was a jounin! He looks so young in this photo!" said Satsuki with shock. The three children in the photograph looked to be around the same age as themselves, the one on the far right of the frame had deep blonde hair that formed short wild spikes. He wore his headband on his forehead, and he wore an orange jacket with blue shoulder patches and a high white collar. He had three whisker marks on each of his cheeks and angrily glared at the child on the far left of the frame.

"That's totally my Dad! Only as a kid!" said Kushina in surprise and joy at finding such a rare glimpse into her fathers life. The child in the middle of the three was smiling with joy. Her bright pink hair long and flowing down her back. Her headband was tied around her head to hold her hair back, and she wore a red dress with white trim.

"Wait... is that... my Mom?" said Minato is shock. "Her hair is so long! Wow. I wonder what she was so happy about?"

"Like, maybe they had just graduated, just like us?" said Chouma. The child on the far left of the photo had pitch black hair that stood up at odd angles and sharp black eyes. He wore his headband on his forehead as well, and his dark black locks draped over it. He wore a blue shirt with short sleeves and a collar of moderate height, and he did not look happy to be there at all. "Who is that kid? Like, he's kinda cute." said Chouma with curiosity. Kushina's jaw dropped in shock as she realized who the third person must be.

"Oh my God... that must be... _him_."

"Him?" asked Shikamari.

"You know! _Him_! Sasuke Uchiha, the infamous 'Shame of Konoha.' The man who turned his back on everything and everyone who had ever cared about him in pursuit of revenge." Kushina said, receiving gasps of horror from the others. "I knew he was on my father's genin team but I have never seen a photograph of him. Nobody has. Angry mobs burned them all after the war, trying to 'cleanse the village of his filth.' I didn't know any of them survived. What's this thing doing here?"

"Wait..." said Shikamari, "I think I just figured it all out. Why the Rokudaime reserved _this_ apartment for you, and why this photo was here. Kushina wasn't your dad an orphan just like Satsuki?"

"Yup, that's why he established the orphanage. So kids would have the support network he never had growing up in Konoha. He was pretty much on his own from the get go."

"I think this was where he lived growing up. I think this was his home." said Shikamari.

"But, wait, then why give it to me?" said Satsuki in confusion.

"I guess he identified with you. Most orphans live through loosing their parents, you and him were orphaned as infants. I guess he felt you were a kindred spirit of sorts. Like Kushina said, he could probably tell you would become a ninja, and I guess he left this stuff here for you to find." said the most intelligent member of the group. They all stood and absorbed this revelation for a minute, before Kushina said,

"Cool! Satsuki you're really lucky. My dad set all of this up just for you. You better work hard and live up to the magnitude of this gift."

"I know that damn it! Like I wouldn't work hard!" said Satsuki, annoyed by the way Kushina framed the statement and quick to anger with the girl she saw as her rival. "But it's just, wow so much has happened in one day."

"We get it. Come on guys let's let her get settled in." said Shikamari as she herded her friends out of Satsuki's new apartment.

"We'll see you tomorrow at the team assigning okay?" said Inoko over his shoulder as he was corralled out the front door. Shikamari looked back and winked at Satsuki as she closed the door behind all of them. Satsuki sat on her new bed and stared at the framed photo that now sat in her hands. She stared at the small angry blond in the photo and wondered aloud,

"What was so special about me?" Placing the now clean frame on her dresser she finished putting away all of her possesions and then changed into her pajamas with a smile. She was excited to sleep in her new bed for the first time. She laid down on the comfy new mattress that her friends had replaced the stale old one with and hugged the pillow. "I can't believe this is all mine!" she looked over at her bedside table at the book that had been left there by her friends. She picked it up and examined its old dusty cover. "'Utterly Gutsy Shinobi' eh?" she cracked the covers open and flipped to the first page to begin reading it. After reading for a few minutes she set it down and got up to turn off the lights. "My first night in a new home. A new life. A life as a shinobi warrior of Konohagakure no Sato." She giggled to herself with excitement over the thought. "I hope I get put on the same team as Minato-kun tomorrow." She got under the covers of her bed and snuggled in to a sleeping position. "That would be... perfect..." she said to herself as sleep overtook her and she began to fondly dream of fighting off the forces of evil alongside her beloved Minato-kun.

_**Dear Readers,**_

**Hello again, sorry at the lack of excitement in this chapter, I really like the sentiment of her friends all caring so much for Satsuki. A special thanks going out to sco23, this person took me up on my call for Original Character submissions, submitting not one, but four Original Characters! You are incredible my friend. And thank you, all of you out there who have been reading my story. My heart is touched by the level of interest my story has attracted with it's three hundred and ninety six visitors and it's seven hundred and two hits. These numbers mean people aren't just looking at my story, they are coming back and reading new chapters! Thank you all! The call for Original Characters still stands, as does the invitation to submit reviews. I was rather disappointed by the... complete lack of new reviews... but no matter. It just means I must try harder to make the story as incredible as it can possibly be! Next chapter the teams are assigned and the jounin step onto the scene. It's going to be exciting! I'm altering my previous statement about schedules, instead of a formal schedule I will simply attempt to make sure that no more than a week goes by without a new chapter being added. Stay tuned, and remember to enjoy yourselves out there!**

_**Love,**_

_**Danthemanwithaplan7**_


	5. Chapter 4: Learning and Understanding

I hope that all who read this find enjoyment in doing so.

For my best friend who is currently in a giant metal floating thing somewhere with hundreds of other men...

Naruto and all of it's copyrighted material is not owned by me. But if it was... oh who am I kidding, that's way too much work for me.

Chapter 4: The Bridge Between Learning and Understanding

He roared with all of his might, his pain, anguish, and fury all pouring out into it as physical might. He stared down his enemy, his object of manifest hatred, and his prey. The man was unflinching and unblinking, the sun reflected cleanly off of the various piercings along his face and ears, and the wind ruffling his long black cloak adorned with red clouds. Not an iota of fear was in the man's features. This defiance of his own might made him hate the man even more. His hatred dripped from his limbs as he flexed his new bones. He sized up the devastation his enemy had done to the village, but without thought, after all there was no thought. Thought was replaced in his mind by a primitive series of logical associations. Images, smells, and feelings blended together wordlessly in his primitive mind. He thought of the smell of blood, and the sight of a woman with pale white eyes being stabbed in the chest. These brought forth an unspeakable rage from the depths of his wounded soul. He imagined the man who had stabbed her as nothing more than a bloody smear across the ground. He imagined all of the villagers who had not stepped in to save her, all dismembered in the most gruesome ways he was capable of.

He heard the man speak, but comprehension of the words was beyond him now. They were merely a dull cry of defiance against him, and his thoughts refocused upon the man who defied him. His focus was broken as tendrils of pale green chakra erupted from his chest. They wrapped around his mighty tails and limbs, attempting to bind his power back to it's vessel. He roared as his heart filled with hatred for these tendrils and for this chakra. He reached down and tore the source from within his skin. A crystal on a string. In the back of his mind a voice cried out, pleading for the precious trinket to be spared. He ignored the small nagging voice and crushed the crystal in his fist. His power flooded back to him, unfiltered and barely restrained by the remaining seal. He took off towards his foe at full speed, to crush his skull into tiny fragments and feast upon his brain matter. The man followed his movement and put forth his hand, shouting more incomprehensible words. He felt a great force push against his body, attempting to repel his attack. His heart's rage flared more intense than the sun itself as he set to stand his ground. None defied his might. He would not be denied his vengeance upon the one he hated. He roared out his soul full of infinite burning rage.

"Ahhhhh!" Minato shouted out as he jolted up in bed. He was soaked in a cold sweat, his heart racing with sheer terror running through his veins. His hands raced over himself, from head to toe, to ensure he was not a monster. The monster that haunted his nightmares. He attempted to calm his erratic breathing and retake control from the panic that gripped his heart. The cool night air wafted in through his open bedroom window, chilling him. Suddenly the door to his bedroom shot open and his parents flew into the room, positioning themselves on either side of his bed, poised and ready to defend their son from attack. He jolted and screamed in surprise, his shaken nerves barely able to handle the shock. For a few moment's the room was silent but for Minato's labored breathing as he tried to calm himself down to a state in which he could once again speak. Eventually he looked between them with an extremely annoyed look on his face before pointing out, "Mom, Dad... I'm not being abducted." The pair of jōnin visibly relaxed and turned to face their son as he continued, "What is it with you two and your irrational fear of my abduction? It was just a nightmare. Sheesh..." Minato pouted and stared down at his sheets. Sakura gave a soft and compassionate smile to her son, and sat next to Minato on the edge of his bed.

"Was it the nightmare where you were the monster again?" she softly asked her shaking son.

"Yeah... the one with the guy in the black robe..." Minato's eyes continued to avoid meeting his mother's. She reached up and cupped his face in her hands, then kissed him gently on the forehead.

"There is nothing to be afraid of. That monster wasn't you. You are not a monster and you never will be Minato." she spoke into his forehead the same thing she always had, ever since the nightmares had first begun in his early childhood. Minato finally looked up into his mother's eyes, his gaze filled with fear and confusion.

"Why do I have these nightmares Mom? Why are they always the same? The monst-"

"Shhhh... Minato, we all have our burdens. Some burdens seem greater than others, but no burden is too heavy. Our burdens are not what define us, our actions define us. You are strong, and kind. And your burdens will only serve to make you stronger, so long as you have a will strong enough to never give up." Minato's eyes lit up at this statement, filled with even greater confusion, but less fear than before.

"Burden? What? I don't understand..."

"Your nightmares son. They are just one of the burdens you carry. Like your fingers. But just like your fingers, they don't need to hold you back, and you don't need to fear them. We all have our burdens..." she looked away from Minato and he could see a tear form at the corner of her eye. Then his father stepped behind her and placed supportive hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him and his gentle, understanding smile resurrected her own smile. She turned back to Minato and continued, "But with the support of those who we love, and with faith in ourselves we can always find happiness."

"I... I still don't think I understand..." Minato replied meekly.

"You will someday son. When your older. We all learn new things about ourselves as we get older. That's part of the wondrous power of youth!." his father said with a wink and a thumbs up. Sakura giggled and gently rubbed Minato's left ear with her hand.

"Now get back to sleep honey. Aren't team assignments in the morning?"

"Nonsense darling! I was just about to get up anyways to come and get him. It's almost four o'clock already, time to start our youthful morning training!" Lee said with fire in his eyes. Minato cringed and tried to disappear back in his sheets. Sakura reached up and grabbed her husband by his ear to scold him.

"No youthful training the morning before team assignments! And who are you trying to fool darling? Your hardly young anymore. Time to stop all of this 'youth' nonsense, the only youthful one in this house is our son."

"But my love! I can still feel the fires of youth in my heart!"

"Of course you can darling." Sakura sighed with frustration. She stood and dragged her husband from their son's room as she lectured him about 'men his age.' Minato looked down at his sheets, lost in thought over the conversation that had just transpired.

"Burdens?" he whispered to himself.

_Later that morning, at the Shinobi Academy..._

Minato yawned loudly as he sat in his usual seat at the exact middle of the front row. He propped his head up with his arm as he attempted not to fall asleep. To his left Kushina was bouncing up and down in her seat with excitement, spouting out random guesses at who her new sensei might be. On his right Satsuki was attempting to stare at him without his knowing, turning back to a book she held every time he looked towards her. He yawned again, only to receive a strong elbow from Kushina.

"What's up with you? Your never tired." she asked him with her eyebrows set in suspicion.

"I was woken up early today." he gruffly replied.

"Your always woken up early." she said, wearing the same skeptical face.

"Well I didn't exactly sleep well..." he quietly replied.

"Oh my, Minato is there anything wrong? Your not coming down with something are you?" asked a now worried Satsuki.

"Nah. Just a bad dream." he replied with a shudder.

As the clock struck eleven the door to the room slid open and in walked a jōnin with short, soft black hair and and a matching black beard. He wore a chunin vest above netted shinobi under armor, and wore his headband just above his right knee, on top of his blue pants. Only appearing to be in his twenties, awfully young as far as jōnin went, he marched to the front of the room confidently and looked over the twelve children in the room with careful red eyes.

"My name is Hiruzen Sarutobi. I am here to announce the selected genin teams for this class' graduates. I will also serve as Sensei to one of those teams. So without further ado lets begin shall we?" He reached into his chunin vest and pulled out a sheet of paper to read off of. "The first team, team sixteen, will be comprised of Nobu Harada, Kame Ishikawa, and Eiji Abe." The three who had been identified look at one another and smiled kindly, excited to know who their new teammates were. "The next team, team seventeen, will be comprised of Satsuki, Kushina Uzumaki,"

"Hey!" angrily shouted Satsuki from her seat. Acting as if she had not spoken, Hiruzen's flow of speech was completely uninterrupted as he read the third name.

"and Minato Lee."

"Never mind!" shouted Satsuki as soon as the word 'Minato' had left the man's lips. A wicked grin spread across Minato's face as he held out his fist to his left, which Kushina excitedly bumped her own against, a similar grin etched on her own face. Satsuki turned to her left with a bright blush and a blissful smile saying, "Isn't this wonderful Minato-kun? You and I are on the same team. Now we get to spend even more time together." Minato responded with a smile and said,

"You know Kushina is on the team too right? Or had you forgotten?" Kushina leaned around Minato to flash a grin at Satsuki and a friendly wave. Satsuki glared at the pale eyed girl saying,

"I didn't forget..." The three had at this point missed the announcement of the members of team eighteen, and turned back toward him to hear the final team announcement.

"And that leaves Inoko Yamanaka, Chouma Akimichi, and Shikamari Nara to form the final team, team nineteen. I will be acting as sensei to team nineteen so if the three of you will follow me we can all get better acquainted outside." he looked up from the sheet and smiled at the three who sat in the middle desk o the second row. Chouma and Inoko leaned around Shikamari to flash grins at one another then stood at the same time. They each then hooked an arm around Shikamari's shoulders and hauled the lazy girl to her feet. Shikamari gave the two a smile and the three all walked down towards their new sensei. As they walked down to the front they all smiled at the new team seventeen, Inoko flashing a peace sign, and Chouma giving a quick hug to Satsuki who sat on the edge of the aisle they walked down. Hiruzen held the door open for his new students before announcing to the rest of the class,

"Your sensei will soon begin to arrive to collect you. Please wait here patiently for their arrival okay?"

_Four hours later..._

"God damn! Where are they! We've been waiting here forever! I mean it was nice to be able to get a nap in but this is ridiculous!" angrily shouted Minato at the nearly empty room around him. He paced, fuming at the front of the room in front of the trio's usual desk. All the student's had left with their new sensei but for himself, Kushina and Satsuki. Satsuki looked up from her moping in her seat towards the clock, then back to her desk with a heavy sigh. Kushina yelled back from the other side of the classroom where she had been taking her frustration out on the wall with a series of punches,

"I know right? What kind of lazy ass ninja is four hours late to pick up their genin team? They're nearly as bad as Shikamari!"

"We should do something about this!" shouted Minato at nobody in particular. Suddenly the door slowly slid open and in an annoyed sounding voice a man said,

"That's enough of that now. Troublesome kids..." the man sighed in exasperation. "I hate training genin... Hiruzen's team was bad enough... these kids sound even worse..." The jaws of the three all dropped in unison with outrage.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" shouted Minato, "And where have you been? We've been waiting for four hours!"

"Yeah, yeah I know. Sorry about the wait I guess. I was caught up in a good shogi match, then I fell asleep afterward. I came straight here after I woke up." Kushina looked ready to explode as she shouted,

"Your late because you took a nap? What the hell is wrong with you!"

The man scratched at the small patch of black hair that sat just below his lower lip, above and separate from the neatly trimmed black goatee below it. He raised his left eyebrow at the statement, an eyebrow which was pierced by a small metal ring near his temple. His other eyebrow carried no piercing but his ears each carried four small metal earrings along their length. His sideburns framed his bored expression well and his black hair was pulled back into a short ponytail which was tied at the crown of his head in the traditional Nara fashion. A single narrow lock of black hair was not bound in this way, and it fell down his face across his left eye. He wore an open chunin vest with nothing underneath but for white bandage wrappings horizontally across his abdomen, and a shogi tile for the king hung on a string from his neck. On either of his shoulders could be seen a black tattoo shaped like an antler and down from his waist hung a large white loincloth over his left thigh with a red kanji for fire on it. His pouch for his ninja tools was tied to his right thigh over his black pants. His leaf headband had been removed from it's original cloth and attached to a band of netted under armor that he wore around his left wrist as a wrist guard.

"Yeah pretty much." the man replied nonchalantly to Kushina, who nearly fell over with shock and outrage at his complete disregard of her well justified anger. Minato's look of surprise shifted to a neutral expression as he asked,

"No excuses? You were late just because you felt like taking a nap?"

"Yup." replied the man. Minato smirked at the jōnin and said,

"Blatant laziness, no bullshit, I like this guy already." Satsuki looked the man over with disapproval as she asked,

"So you're our new sensei?"

"Yeah that's right. Even though it's gonna be a total drag. I'm Shikamaru Nara." recognition flashed across Kushina's face as she identified the name.

"Wait, your Shikamari's dad right?" Shikamaru chuckled and replied,

"That's right you guys are all friends with my daughter aren't you. When I read your names in my assignment I guess it just didn't register. Either that or I didn't care. Forget which it was..." he said with a casual pondering look. The anger evaporated off of Minato and Kushina as they both realized the fruitlessness of being angry at a Nara for laziness. A drop of sweat rolled down the face of each of the three children in their frustration with their lazy new sensei. "Anyways, I guess we should get out of here, go somewhere to sit and chat. Follow me." he lazily waved backwards in their direction as he turned and exited through the door. The three all followed him out, and Satsuki slid the door closed behind them all.

"So introduce yourselves formally and tell me about yourselves." Shikamaru said to the three from his lazily reclined position on a park bench near the gates of Konoha. They sat scrunched together on the bench directly across from his in their usual order. The bench was large enough to fit all three but too narrow for any space to exist between their shoulders. Minato fidgeted uncomfortably from the middle as he asked,

"What do you wanna know?"

"Well you know... stuff... likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, that kind of stuff. Help me get to know you." he said as he stifled a yawn. Minato responded without hesitation,

"I'm Minato Lee. I like lots of stuff. I dislike youthful morning training, ignorant ass holes, people who bug me, working hard without a good reason too, and my parent's embarrassing me. My hobby is spending time with my friends. And as for dreams, ain't got one. I just want to live my life, be a shinobi, and not get left in the dust by my friends." Shikamaru smirked at the pink haired boy and smiled.

"You and me kid, are gonna get along just fine. How bout you?" he asked as he nodded towards Satsuki. She snuggled closer to Minato and started,

"My name is Satsuki. Just Satsuki. I have no last name. My likes are inventing, reading and..." she turned towards Minato with a blush before quietly saying "Minato-kun." He shrugged his shoulder into her to demonstrate that she was making him uncomfortable, in more ways than one. She continued on, "My dislikes are cruel people, mindless fangirls, and Kushina."

"Hey!" shouted the offended Kushina as Satsuki simply chose to ignore her protests.

"My hobby is, like I said earlier, inventing. I like to make new things. I've even started trying to invent my own jutsu! I've had... limited success... but I'm sure I will make something work someday. My dream is to become a famous shinobi and to get a last name I can be proud of." with this statement she blushed and looked at Minato again, who in realizing her implication, turned bright red with embarrassment and stammered out,

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! No! Repeat after me! Just! Friends! Satsuki! Down!" She simply giggled at his violent rejection and smiled as she told Shikamaru,

"He's shy." A drop of sweat rolled down Shikamaru's dry expression as he replied,

"Right... shy..." Turning to Kushina and giving a nod he said, "That just leaves you."

Kushina grinned from ear to ear, and Shikamaru's jaw dropped as he saw in her expression the echo of his dead friend.

"My name is Kushina Uzumaki! I like my friends, nice people, my uncles, my parents, Konoha, ramen, my Uzumaki heritage, and seals! I really, really love seals! I dislike... well... I mean I really don't _dislike_ anything in particular. My hobby is studying seals! My dream is to have lots of kids and rebuild my clan from the ground up! The world would be lost if we went extinct! They need us! The Uzumaki will be reborn as a clan dedicated to protecting peace and justice everywhere!" Shikamaru nearly choked on air in reaction to her statement about having lots of kids. Minato simply gave a sympathetic nod and said,

"Yeah... that's how most people react." Satsuki gave a disapproving shake of her head and said under her breath,

"Such a whore."

"Alright. I think I've got a good understanding of what I'm working with here." said Shikamaru as he stood up from the bench. "Now that were all introduced we get down to business. Meet me at training field four at the crack of dawn tomorrow, and I wouldn't eat breakfast beforehand if I were you." He turned to leave, then stopped seeming to have remembered something. He turned back to the three on the bench and said, "Oh and bring all of your ninja tools. You will need them." With that, Shikamaru disappeared leaving only a swirl of wind and leaves where he stood.

"Well that was... interesting..." said Satsuki.

"Shikamaru-sensei is awsome." said Minato with a smirk.

"Oh now I'm all excited for tomorrow morning. What do you think is going to happen?" Kushina asked excitedly.

"Were gonna get lots of exercise." replied Minato flatly. Kushina and Satsuki's jaws dropped at his statement.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"How can you possibly tell that?"

"Because first he said not to eat breakfast, and if being woken up at four every morning to run fifteen miles as a warm up to training has taught me anything it's that breakfast followed by rigorous exercise results in vomit." he said with certainty. Kushina and Satsuki looked deep in thought for a moment following his statement.

"So if were going to get lots of exercise... and we need our ninja tools... target practice of some kind you think?" asked Kushina to the others.

"No. This has to be something more or he would have just told us what it was. Which means... were either going to fight each other... or fight him..." said Satsuki with a shudder.

"Fighting each other would be pointless this early on, in his eyes it would run the risk of ruining our cohesion as a unit. So that just leaves..." Kushina stopped, afraid to finish.

"We fight him in some way." finished Minato. All three sat silent for a few moments, soaking in this information from their derived consensus. Suddenly Satsuki shouted out in terror,

"We need a plan!"

_The next morning at sunrise, near Konoha's training field number four..._

The three stood around nervously, Minato kept looking around and Satsuki fidgeted with her ninja tool pouch over top of her right back pocket. Kushina reached into her sleeves and rearranged their hidden contents, her stomach growling loudly.

"Come on Kushina, you've never skipped breakfast before?"

"I'm so sorry that I'm used to starting my day off without fuel. Not all of use have Dads that drag us out of bed at four every morning. It's not normal to be used to this kind of thing." He shrugged in response and continued to look around in anticipation. Suddenly a rustling in a nearby tree attracted all of their attention, causing them all to reach for their ninja tools. Suddenly Shikamaru fell sideways out of the tree, landing flat on his back on the ground. The three looked in surprise and confusion as their sensei said,

"Ow... that's what I get for sleeping in a tree. Fell out of the damn thing I guess..."

"You slept here? Why?" asked Satsuki. The question seemed to confuse Shikamaru and he replied,

"Because I knew if I slept at my house I would wake up late for this." then his voice dropped to a mumble as he added, "Plus the wife was mad at me so I had to lay low for a while..." Minato nodded saying,

"Makes sense." Kushina turned to Minato, eyes wide and mouth agape, shouting,

"It makes no sense! Don't pretend it does!" Shikamaru rolled on his side then got up from the ground with a grunt and turned to the three.

"Alright. Since were all here let's begin. First I must inform you that you have been deceived. You are not, in fact, genin yet. Your graduation exam was merely a preliminary to this, which will serve as the true test." All three stood, eyes wide, paralyzed with horror at the revelation.

"So all that... was for nothing?" asked Kushina

"Well kinda. This is the real test. You must pass to become true genin, and only half of those who graduated will pass. Only six will become genin this year, and those who fail will be sent back to the academy." Kushina fell over in shock, and Satsuki began to cry. "Oh geez, calm down. You still have a shot at passing. Man what a drag."

"What is the test?" asked a still stunned Minato. Shikamaru smirked,

"Well I'm glad somebody asked. Your test will be to touch my shadow. Only the first two to succeed at touching my shadow will pass. You have until noon to do so, which is..." he looked towards the sun briefly, "six hours from now. This is the real deal. You will have to come at me with the intent to kill if you want to have any chance at all of success." Kushina stood back up and Satsuki stopped crying as Minato shook off the paralysis of shock. The three looked at one another, nodded in unison, then fixed their sensei with three glares of intense focus. Shikamaru chuckled, "That's a good sign. Determination. Alright then, lets go." Shikamaru immediately took off swiftly into the foliage of the training area.

The three took off together in pursuit of him, following the trail he left through the leaves and branches. They soon came to a clearing where the trail broke of into three directions simultaneously. They looked around, trying to tell real from fake before Minato gave up and shouted,

"Kushina!"

"Right!" she responded, before forming a snake seal. She focused her chakra and closed her eyes. The veins in her temples around here eyes bulged and her pale eyes opened to reveal the pale pupil to be dilated and revealing visible veins in the pale iris. "Byakugan!" she said as her vision expanded into a full three hundred and sixty degrees. She stood focusing for a moment before shock overtook her features and she shouted, "Below! In your shadow Minato!" Minato pulled a kunai from the pouch on his right thigh and flung the blade at his own shadow without hesitation. A tendril of shadow came out to catch the blade as Shikamaru materialized out of Minato's shadow. Quickly forming a rat seal Shikamaru calmly said,

"Shadow Imitation Technique. This is lesson one; Taijustu." Shikamaru turned to his right towards Kushina and threw a punch into the air, Kushina stood confused before Minato's fist collided with her cheek, knocking her down. Minato looked at his own fist in horror as he cried out,

"I didn't do that! It's his justu, the one Shikamari told us about. You have to stop me!" He lurched forward in unison with his sensei ax kicking at Kushina. She rolled out of the way as his heel hit dirt where she once lay. She sprang to her feet and charged at Minato. She punched to the right from a squared and balanced stance, and Shikamaru raised his arm to block the strike, causing Minato to follow suit. Satsuki drew a kunai and rushed at Shikamaru, attempting a drop kick, which he easily hopped over, causing Minato to do the same. Taking advantage he spun and kicked at thin air, causing Minato to kick Kushina in the shoulder. She reacted quickly, wrapping an arm around his leg and reaching into her sleeve in one clean motion. She swung a paper tag from her sleeve out and slapped it onto Minato's thigh shouting,

"Combat Seal: Limb Paralysis Seal!" Minato's leg fell limp immediately and he crumpled to the ground. Shikamaru tried to make Minato move his leg but to no avail. He reached his right arm out to make Minato remove the tag, but was forced to block another attack from Satsuki's kunai strikes. Minato rolled on the ground as his body tried to mimic his movements without the use of his right leg, resulting in seizing convulsions on the ground that bruised him from head to toe. Shikamaru smirked and released the jutsu on Minato, before kicking Satsuki square in the chest, knocking her off of her feet and sending her careening into Kushina, knocking her over as well. He then took off into the woods away from the three on the ground. They all groaned in pain as then got up slowly.

"What happened to the plan?" asked Satsuki.

"Never got a chance to use it, ugh." said Minato in response.

"He knew we would stop there, and even if I hadn't used my byakugan he would have just attacked you once we split up down those three trails." said Kushina as she deactivated her kekkei genkai.

"He is smarter than us, stronger than us, faster than us... we can't win..." solemnly said Satsuki. "And even if we could win, only two of us would pass. The third will-"

"You two can pass." said Minato casually. Kushina and Shikamari looked at him, utterly stunned.

"W-what? Minato no we... we can't let you-"

"Eh it's fine. Another year at the academy won't kill me. Besides you two have big dreams. Can't let a little old impossible test hold you back" he wickedly grinned at them.

"M-Minato-kun..." Satsuki said with tears forming in the corners of er eyes.

"No tears! Action! Let's kick his lazy ass and get you two passed already." he confidently asserted. Kushina gently smiled and nodded to him.

"Minato. Classic Minato."

Shikamaru sighed loudly. "... why haven't they attacked? They shouldn't have fallen to infighting yet. That's not for another two hours. They should be out here so I can whoop their asses with the second lesson. I can hear them in the bushes all around here." he said from his seated position in the middle of a clearing. He absentmindedly picked his ear with his pinky finger. His eyes suddenly narrowed and he leapt to the side to avoid a hail of shuriken that came flying out of three separate bushes at his eight, ten and twelve. He leapt for the gap in the formation to pick their lines apart with ninjutsu, when suddenly all three young shinobi erupted from the bushed he was heading directly towards. His eye's widened in surprise as he looked at the locations the shuriken had come from an instant before. 'No way are they that fast. They are genin.' The glint of sun reflecting off metal attracted his gaze to the series of contraptions that he had not been able to see from where he sat, hidden behind the bushes.

"You like them? They are my automatic shuriken throwing traps. Brought a few with me today." said Satsuki with a toothy grin, her pride in her invention palpable. Shikamaru smirked before flying through hand seals and dropping to the ground.

"Lesson two, ninjutsu. Earth Style: Forest of Antlers!" The ground before the three erupted as sharp stone protrusions formed a thick mesh blocking their path. Too close to the jutsu and moving too fast to stop themselves, Kushina reached out to grab her teammates. She hurled them to the side, saving them from the jutsu as she collided with the mesh, narrowly avoiding being stabbed as she became covered in cuts of moderate depth. Her blood dripped to the ground from where she hug, hopelessly tangled in the spikes. Minato bounced to his feet and leapt over the barrier formed by the justu. He landed and flew at Shikamaru, unleashing his full speed as a surprise attack. He flew at Shikamaru fast enough to whip up a small wind in his wake and Shikamaru was caught off guard by the speed he possessed remarking,

"Holy shit kid. You're damn fast for a genin." Rolling his eyes he huffed, "That just makes thing even more troublesome." He rolled his shoulder and slid his right foot forward to block Minato's punch and deflect it up his arm and over his head. This deflection left Minato overextended and off balance, which Shikamaru acted upon by kicking Minato's feet out from under him while rolling to the side. He reformed the final seal in his justu and more antler-like spears erupted from the ground Minato was falling towards. He closed his eyes and crossed his arms in front of himself to try and avoid a deep wound, when he felt someone catch him in mid air and pull him along with themselves away from the jutsu. Satsuki had leapt and caught the falling Minato to land them both safely away from the spires. She then spun herself and flung Minato towards Shikamaru, who threw his arms up reflexively to block the blow. But rather than a strike, Minato wrapped his arms tightly around Shikamaru's arms and torso as the two collided with each other. He hooked his hands together and held on tight with all his might as Shikamaru flexed to free himself. He then saw Satsuki plunge forwards towards his shadow. She was only a few inches from her fingers contacting the shade his body created when he spun and threw Minato from himself, right into Satsuki. The two collided and Shikamaru disappeared once again into the brush.

Hauling himself to his feet Minato groaned in frustration. The stone spires all crumbled, freeing Kushina and the other two rushed to her side. She moaned in pain from the cuts that covered her.

"Hang on Kushina... I think some of these are shallow enough that I can heal them. I can at least stop the others from bleeding." Minato put his hand's forward and they glowed with a weak, unstable green aura. He held his hands over her cuts one by one, healing the small and shallow cuts and stopping the bleeding of the larger deeper ones. Sweat rolled off of his forehead from exertion and focus, which Satsuki wiped away for him as he worked. Soon he collapsed to a seated position, panting heavily as Kushina sat up as well to bandage the deep cuts still left on her body.

"Thanks Minato, your a life saver." she said to him. He waved the compliment off and between panting he said,

"Your welcome. But I used up almost all of my chakra. This is getting bad. It's been four hours already, were running out of time."

"We keep getting separated. Our grand plan amounted to nothing. We need to keep ourselves together and try one last all out assault."

"Exactly." agreed Kushina.

The three arrived at another clearing following after Shikamaru using Kushina's Byakugan. They were passing through a clearing and nearing in on Shikamaru when he turned around and with a series of seals ending with the tiger seal and shouted "Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!" Suddenly the world around them went out, all were struck completely blind by thick impenetrable darkness.

"Kushina! Can you see? Can we disrupt his ninjutsu?" Minato's question was met with silence for a moment before she shouted,

"I can't see anything! No chakra either!"

"No chakra?" asked Satsuki. "Then... Genjutsu! Quick we have to dispel it on each other! It's too strong to break alone!" The three reached out to where they all knew the others where in their formation and locked their arms in a triangle. They each poured chakra into the person on their left shouting in unison,

"Release!" Suddenly the world flew back to them, and the darkness was dispelled. But to their horror Shikamaru stood in the midst of their formation. He quickly hit each of them in the chest, knocking them all to the ground away from each other.

"That was lesson three; genjutsu. And... done." he said as he looked down at his shadow which had shrunk to a small orb directly beneath himself. "It's noon guys. The test is over." Minato slammed a fist in the dirt, and tears rolled down from Satsuki's eyes.

"We failed. We never even got close. Damn it!" shouted Kushina.

"What are you talking about? That was amazing." said Shikamaru. The three all blinked in surprise then slowly turned to look at the smiling Shikamaru in confusion. "I have never seen a fresh new genin unit work together as a team so effectively. Not only that, but your the first team I've heard of who figured out what the test would be like before it even happened."

"You knew?" said Satsuki, realizing just how far outmatched the three really were.

"Of course I knew. I mean you had a _plan_. Genin don't go into the test with a plan. You guys broke the mold here. You never stopped working together, even in a situation where only two of you could possibly succeed. That isn't something that can be taught in a classroom, which is why we do these tests. The point was to test your ability to trust in your teammates and work together. This is the bridge. You learned in the classroom about things like this but didn't truly understand them. Even if you had experienced them instead of learning about them you still wouldn't have understood. Understanding only comes from where learning and experiencing intersect, allowing them both to blend into true understanding. And you all have a firm understanding of what it means to be a team. Therefore, you pass."

"We... we pass? We pass?" shouted Kushina in joy.

"We did it! We passed the test!" Minato roared in pride.

Shikamaru chuckled at the three exuberant youths, their excitement only outmatched by their determination. "Alright. It's official now. This is team seventeen, and you are all genin of Konohagakure no Sato. Report here tomorrow at noon and we will get set up for our first mission alright?" The three stood turned to him and all bowed in unison, saying,

"Yes sensei." Shikamaru smirked.

"Good to finally get some appreciation around here. Being disrespected is such a drag." and with that he disappeared.

**_Dear Readers,_**

**Hello again. Not much to say after this chapter. The jōnin are here and you have been given glimpses into the depths of the talents our young heroes possess. The request for reviews, and the request for original characters both stand. Other than that just enjoy life and share the love around. Share the love till it comes back to you, and then go ahead and share it some more. **

** _Love, _**

**_Danthemanwithaplan7  
><em>**


	6. Chapter 5: Definition of 'Genin Work'

I hope that all who read this find enjoyment in doing so.

Dedicated to my best friend, Mr. Sailor Man.

I do not own Naruto. After all slavery is wrong.

Chapter 5: The Definition of 'Genin Work'

The metal hammer came down on the head of the nail for the third and final time as the nail's head was forced flush against the wood into which it was driven. Satsuki reached up and pulled another nail from between her lips. She lined the nail up where the board crossed on top of the post and struck it on its head with her hammer to drive it into the wood to hold the two pieces together. As she hammered away Minato approached from her left, carrying a stack of wooden boards in his arms. With a grunt he laid them down next to Satsuki and retrieved his own hammer from where it had rested up against the section of fence that was freshly complete. He he took off his shirt, using it to wipe the sweat from his brow, and adjusted his earmuffs before setting about constructing the shed that the client had requested be built next to this section of fence. The sound of a hammer making contact resounded towards their position from where the two could see Kushina repairing the roof of the barn that sat across the field from them. She waved back to Minato as he waved at her. Minato turned around and glared up at a man who was laying in the branches of a nearby tree, and snoring loudly.

"Sensei!" he shouted up at the sleeping man, receiving only a slight stirring from the man as a response. "Sensei I know your awake now. Why aren't you up of your ass and helping with this stuff? It's our mission after all, that means you have to help." Satsuki rose from her knees and put her hands on her hips to join Minato in glaring at their Sensei.

"Yeah Sensei! This isn't fair, making us do all the work while you sleep all afternoon." The man in the tree turned his head to face them and cracked open an eyelid to look down at his new students.

"Why would I help you with this work? This is Genin level work, and should be done by you, the genin. I'm not on your team I supervise your team, I reserve the right to withhold my assistance when I feel like it." Satsuki's glare narrowed as she asked,

"When you feel like it, you mean always?"

"You got it Satsuki." he replied as he closed his eye and turned away from the pair. Minato was about to hurl his hammer up at his sensei when Satsuki on his right said,

"Fair enough. Come on Minato-kun let's get back to it so we can get done."

"What do you mean 'fair enough' Satsuki?"

"I bet he had to do this kind of stuff when he was a genin too. Sensei may be really lazy but I'm sure he has his reasons for not helping."Minato thought for a moment before smiling and agreeing,

"Your right. I mean he is the smartest jōnin in konoha."

"You really should choose better role models Minato-kun, you respect Shikamaru sensei way more than he deserves."

"Oh come on, he's a world famous shinobi. Besides, he's by far the coolest jōnin I've ever met."

"By coolest you mean laziest, right? He hasn't taught us anything about being shinobi yet and it's been four weeks."

"Come on, you know sensei, he will get to it eventually. Shinobi gotta start their careers somewhere right?"

"You mean with doing menial labor around a ranch in extreme disrepair?" Minato laughed and shrugged without looking at her as he retrieved some nails and set about beginning to build the shed.

"Why not? Come on, if we work faster we will get to leave this God forsaken heat sooner." Satsuki dropped her glare on their sensei and turned to face her teammate, with stars in her eyes and a blush on her face.

"Minato-kun, your such a diligent shinobi." She ogled his shirtless torso as she complimented him. Minato laughed the compliment off.

"Nah, I'm just lazy enough to want be done as soon as possible."

"Guys!" Minato and Satsuki turned towards the barn in response to Kushina's call from it's roof. They saw the young Uzumaki standing with one fist in the air and the other pointing a hammer towards them.

"Done with the barn! I got done before you guys, and I had the harder job! It just goes to show-" Satsuki turned away and spoke to herself over the distant cries of her teammate.

"Blah, blah, Uzumaki this, gutsy that, blah blah. Can she ever shut up about herself and her stupid family?" Minato laughed at Satsuki's bitter remarks.

"Yeah well, she means well. It's not like she's arrogant or anything."

"She isn't?"

"Well... arrogant wouldn't be the word I would use..."

"I think she is full of it."

_Later that afternoon..._

"Why thank y'all. Y'all did a fine job repairing the old ranch, and now I can bring in some new livestock fer the region without worrying much." said the middle aged rancher in his thick regional accent to the assembled team. Shikamaru smiled and said,

"It was nothing. Tasks like this are simple for jōnin like me. And the genin even got to help out a little too." The three young shinobi that stood side by side in front of their sensei all had a drop of sweat roll down the sides of their faces at the shameless theft of credit their sensei had seamlessly performed. "We trust that you will continue to turn to the shinobi alliance when you need help around your ranch or are in need of escort through unscrupulous regions."

"Oh ya c'n count on that. You nanja sure are reliable ranch hands. Y'all take care now."

As the four set out down the path back towards Konoha, Kushina and Minato were wrapped deep in a conversation held in whispers as Satsuki tried to listen in on what they were talking about and Shikamaru ignored all three in favor of staring at the sunset as they walked. Suddenly their conversation ended and Kushina turned to glare at Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru sensei! When are you going to start training us? It's been four weeks and all we've done is chase down cats and fix houses. Hell the only thing we've learned is how to erect wooden structures! I-We want to start some serious training!" Shikamaru was silent for a moment as he matched Kushina's glare with his steady intelligent gaze. Finally he sighed, then shrugged and said,

"Fine. Had to start sooner or later I guess. Troublesome kids. We will start tonight after the debrief." Kushina and Satsuki's eyes lit up and both excitedly picked up their pace down the path. Their competitive gazes met as they realized the synchrony of their actions. Kushina began to walk fast. Then Satsuki increased her pace to one faster than Kushina's. Soon the two were sprinting down the path, side by side as they competitively raced back for Konoha. Minato and Shikamaru continued their previous, lazy pace down the path as they watched Kushina and Satsuki race off into the distance.

"How do you put up with those two?"

"Eh, I'm not really sure to be honest. It just doesn't bother me anymore."

_Later that evening at training ground four..._

"Tonight were going to do a test to analyze your skill in chakra control. I'm going to teach you how to climb a tree without using your hands." said Shikamaru to the three young genin standing before him. He gestured to the tree behind them and said, "Everyone choose a tree."

"Wait sensei, how can we climb trees without our hands?" asked Satsuki.

"Like this." responded Minato. He walked up to a nearby tree and placed a foot against his trunk. He stepped off of the ground and calmly walked up the side of the tree, standing straight out from it as if he were walking on the ground.

"Since when have you known how to do that?" asked Shikamaru. Kushina and Satsuki's eyes nearly fell out of their heads in shock at seeing their teammate appear to defy gravity.

"My mom taught me. Guys all you have to do is concentrate chakra in your feet and use that chakra to cling to the trunk of the tree."

"Really?" asked Kushina. She formed a seal to focus her chakra and tried to step up onto the tree trunk. She took a single step up before the trunk beneath her foot splintered and broke and she fell flat on her back on the ground. "Owwww." Satsuki burst into laughter at seeing this and Shikamaru spoke up,

"Your control wasn't bad but you used far too much chakra."

"See that? Having all that Uzumaki chakra finally backfired on you. Now watch a real kunoichi give it a go." Satsuki formed a seal and focused chakra into her feet as well. Minato watched from his secure place standing on the side of the tree. Satsuki took a single step up the tree before her foot slipped and she smashed her face into the tree trunk as she fell to the ground.

"And that was not enough chakra. Nice demonstration girls. Minato you can go home, you've clearly already got a good hold on your chakra control."

"Well duh. I am training to be a medical-nin after all. See you guys later alright? If you need help you can come and find me." and with that Minato leapt off the tree and walked off towards the main part of Konoha.

"See Satsuki? We're both bad at this." said Kushina from her position on the ground. Satsuki huffed off the statement.

"Well you two need to spend some time working this out. You need to learn to focus your chakra and better control the quantity and direction in which you apply it. Don't stay out here to late now alright? You will catch colds." Shikamaru instructed as he followed Minato off towards Konoha.

"What! You're not going to stay and help? What the hell kind of teaching is that?" angrily shouted Kushina after her sensei.

"Hey your learning aren't you? You asked for this." Then he disappeared in a whirl of wind and leaves. Satsuki stared at the swirl with a dry look.

"He loves to do that way too much."

"What disappear?"

"No, abandon us to figure it out ourselves."

_The Lee residence in the heart of Konoha..._

"Hey mom. I'm home. Is there any diner left?" asked Minato into his house as he entered the front door. His question was met with silence and after he hung his earmuffs on a hook next to the front door he walked further into the house to locate his parents. He heard voices coming from the kitchen and walked towards the entryway.

"... becoming more frequent. Should we be worried?"

"No, that is to be expected. The chakra is not leaking out and mixing so the suppressed will is finding outlet through his dreams. Unless it begins to interfere with his getting enough sleep you don't need to worry." curious Minato walked into the room and immediately his hands shot to the sides of his head where his earmuffs usually sat. There at the kitchen table sat both of his parents and a third, older man. The man wore over the lower half of his face a white mask and his spiked white hair stood up diagonally from the top of his head. His left eye was closed and a long scar cut straight down across it from his forehead to his cheek. He turned and looked at Minato with his right eye and a smile visible beneath his mask that caused the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes to flex and scrunch. His white and red robes rustled as the man turned his body towards him.

"H-Hokage-sama! I didn't know you were here! I'll be right back!" Minato turned to retrieve his earmuffs when the laughter of the Hokage stopped him.

"It's fine Minato, I already know. And you don't need to call me Hokage right now, just call me Kakashi. I'm here simply as a friend catching up with his old student not as the Hokage. Come sit." Kakashi patted the empty chair on his left as his parents gave Minato a pair of warm loving smiles coupled with a nod of agreement from his mother. Minato was surprised for a moment before slowly he relaxed his arms, allowing his hands to fall from their places on the sides of his head and revealing his previously hidden ears. He walked to the table and sat between his mother and the aged Hokage. Across the table his father winked and gave him an overly dramatic thumbs up as he asked,

"How was the mission son? Did your youth shine bright in success?" Minato nervously glanced to his right at the Hokage who seemed not to pay any heed to his uncovered ears and answered,

"Uh, yeah dad the mission went great. We ended up basically rebuilding the entire ranch but we got it all done in one day so it wasn't too rough."

"That's great honey, how are the girls doing?" asked his mother as she sipped tea on Minato's left.

"They are good. Shikamaru-sensei has them learning the tree climbing exercise right now. He told me that since I already knew it to just come home." His mother sighed nostalgically and looked up at the ceiling.

"Ahhh the tree climbing exercise. Do you remember teaching us that Kakashi-sensei?" The Hokage laughed as he replied,

"Well I remember teaching the boys the tree climbing exercise. As I recall you got it right in your first try without any hints and left the boys to figure it out on their own." She gave a proud huff in agreement.

"As it should be. Those two were both so strong it was about time I found something I was better at than they were."

"My love you are so incredibly talented. To this day I still cannot perform the tree climbing exercise, but with the power of my burning youth I simply run fast enough so that it does not matter." Kakashi laughed and turned to Minato.

"Like mother like son eh?" Minato laughed uncomfortably at the comparison with his terrifying mother. "So Minato tell me, how do you like having Shikamaru as a teacher?" Minato relaxed and began to regale the three with tales of his teacher's 'epic awesomeness.'

_At training ground four, around midnight..._

The sound of sandals against wood resounded through the training field as the two kunoichi raced one another up their respective trees. They each made about fifteen steps before both fell off their own tree and landed hard on the ground. The two heaved heavy breaths in their shared state of exhaustion. For nearly five minutes neither girl stirred from the ground as they each stared at the place on their own tree that they had just fallen from. Kushina was the first to speak.

"Well... we're getting better..." Satsuki huffed her response,

"Of course. As if I would let you beat me at this too. You're not showing me up this time, not with Minato on the team." Kushina rolled onto her stomach and looked over at Satsuki.

"Why do you always have to be like that? It's not a competition you know."

"Like hell it's not! Your always working so hard just to be better than everyone else." Kushina blinked in surprise.

"That's why you think I work hard?"

"Duh." Kushina flashed a toothy Uzumaki smile over to Satsuki.

"You're wrong. I don't work hard to be better than everyone else you know." Satsuki turned her head and gave Kushina a skeptical glare. "I do it to be the best I can be, it's never been about being 'better' I'm just trying to live up to my namesake." This caused Satsuki to pause for thought.

"Really?"

"Really." Satsuki gave Kushina the first genuine smile she had ever given to her.

"Well, your still a total whore for Minato's attention." Kushina laughed off the insult and buried her face in the ground with exhaustion.

"I think it's time to call it a night. Let's head back to your apartment."

"Yeah I guess- What! My apartment? Like hell your going there, go to your own house." Kushina laughed as she hauled herself up onto her knees.

"What and let you get a head start on me tomorrow? No I'm not letting you leave my sight until we both master this." Satsuki rose to a sitting position.

"Won't your uncles get worried?" Kushina waved off the concern.

"Nah, Uncle Shino's bugs tell him wherever I am anywhere in Konoha. They know my scent hehehe." Satsuki gave the white eyed girl a dry look.

"That's gross." Kushina simply laughed as she rose to her feet and grabbed Satsuki by her shoulders to help her onto her feet as well. The two were silent as they stumbled together across Konoha back to Satsuki's apartment.

_Two days later around noon..._

"Hey girls we're back! You guys make any more progress since yesterday?" Shouted Minato as he and Shikamaru strolled into the clearing of the training ground together. They looked around the base of the two trees the pair used but couldn't find them.

"Did they wander off for a break or something?" asked Shikamaru.

"Nah, those two aren't the 'break' kind." replied Minato.

"Hey! Up here dummies!" came the cry of Kushina's voice from up above. The two looked up and both smirked at what they saw. There sitting at the top of each of their respective trees sat Kushina and Satsuki, covered in the grime of their efforts and the glow of their shared triumph.

"And for the record," shouted Satsuki "she didn't beat me! We tied!" Minato laughed and threw the two a thumbs up that his father would have cried tears of joy at the sight of. Shikamaru chuckled at the two in the trees.

"Great job you two, looks like you've got it down. How bout you come down and I take you three out to celebrate. How does Ichiraku's sound?" Kushina couldn't have gotten out of the tree faster if she had been thrown from it, as she was followed more patiently by Satsuki. Kushina stood on the tips of her toes as close to her sensei as she could, definitively invading his personal space.

"Really? Yes! Ichiraku's ramen! We haven't been in so long that Ayame must be wondering if were not all dead!" Minato laughed in agreement,

"I could really go for some of her famous tsukemen right about now." Satsuki ran to his side in excitement.

"I know right? Her tsukemen is sooo much better than the regular old ramen." Kushina slowly turned to face her friends, a look of horror on her face.

"How can you two even say that? Ramen is God's gift to the world! And Ichiraku's is God's ramen prophet! Screw tsukemen!"

"Stop all this fighting, it's bothersome. Besides it's just food no reason to get so worked up." he turned to see that his words of wisdom had been ignored and the three were now in an all out fist fight over which of Ayame's two specialties was better.

_A few days later, in the office of the Hokage..._

"Your team has performed well in all of it's missions so far Shikamaru, good work." began the Shichidaime Hokage as he reclined in his chair while several of his shadow clones slaved away. This was the trick his predecessor the Rokudaime had invented to deal with the infinite paperwork the Hokage had to address and Kakashi had eagerly adopted his pupil's clever way to weasel out of any actual work. "Now the next mission I have for you all is D-rank and will be in the land of rice paddies where a town is in need of some work-"

"With all do respect Hokage-sama!" interrupted Kushina, much to the horror of the Hokage's personal assistant, a woman with large, freestanding pigtails named Moegi. "We've been doing these D-rank missions for over four weeks now. Can't we get even a single C-rank mission?" The Hokage sighed heavily as he looked over the three young genin. The two kunoichi had steely gazes filled with confidence at the prospect of a C-rank mission. Minato however gave a look of calmer confidence, sure of himself but not nearly as in earnest as his teammates were. Shikamaru looked at Kakashi impartially and asked,

"Well Hokage-sama? Personally I think they might be ready but it's your decision. Will you give them more genin work, or an actual mission?" Kakashi put away the paper he held in a drawer of his desk and reached into a different drawer to retrieve a separate paper. He looked it over briefly then turned to team seventeen.

"Alright, if you're sure you're ready."

"We are Hokage-sama." confidently assured Satsuki. Kakashi laughed before continuing.

"Then here is your first C-Rank mission..."

_**Dear Readers,**_

**Hello again, author here. First I would like to apologize for how short this chapter is, but despite it's lack in length a great deal happens in it so I hope that makes it up to you all. I would like to thank my sixty most loyal readers who have so far read every new chapter before the next installment in released. Thank you all. And to anyone who has any ideas for Original Characters please formally submit them to me via Private Messaging. As always I ask that my readers submit reviews for the chapters of my story, but if you would rather keep you opinion to yourself that is fine as well... I guess... Anyways thanks for reading, and I hope that you all return for the next exciting chapter of 'The Tale of Team 17'.**

_**Love,**_

_**Danthemanwithaplan7**_


	7. Chapter 6: Make Friends, Defend Clients

**I'm back my lovely readers. I am terribly sorry about the prolonged absence but this was a result of the combination of extra hours at my real job, panic over the nation possibly defaulting and me then loosing my government college loan, and a short illness. Enjoy my friends. **

I hope that all who read this find enjoyment in doing so.

Dedicated to my best friend.

My name is not Masashi Kishimoto, therefore I do not own Naruto.

_**Behind the scenes on the set of "The Tale of Team 17"**_

**The pair of actors walked into the massive warehouse that had been modified into the set of the up and coming new show The Tale of Team 17. The young woman looked around at the massive piles of props and staging equipment that were scattered about, her gently curling dark brunette hair swirled around her shoulders as her head swiveled from side to side. Her light yellow shirt with mid-length sleeves perfectly complimented her chocolate brown skin, and her intelligent emerald eyes scanned the people nearby searching for the director. On her side stood a tall young man with red, scaly skin, a dark blue shirt, black shorts and a massive neck. Along his neck formed on each side three parallel lines that were obviously gills. His mouth was filled with sharp serrated teeth and his short black hair sat well trimmed above his pointed ears and silver eyes. He stood with a calm look on his face as he too searched for the director. They both noticed the man at the same time and made their way over to him simultaneously. **

**The man they approached was quite tall, nearly six feet and two inches in height. He wore jeans over filthy looking tennis shoes and an extremely clean white tuxedo jacket over a blue shirt and a blue bow tie at his collar. He had short light brunette hair and over his blue green eyes he wore square rimmed glasses. The man was not particularly in shape, his belly not any semblance of flat, but was not what would be considered fat. He turned to the two actors and a wide grin spread across his face. **

"**Ahhhhh welcome Nicole, welcome Ryuudo. I trust that the shooting went well yesterday for your show?" Nicole returned a soft smile of her own and gently answered,**

"**Why yes it did, thank you for asking. The others are all quite excited to be getting a break from the nearly constant shooting we've been doing lately." The director nodded in understanding,**

"**Yes, it can be quite difficult to maintain such momentum for too long a time, especially for children, which is why we ourselves are just returning from a break. The stars of our show are so young they deserved a break from the action." He then turned to face the fishman standing on Nicole's right. "I must say you are extremely imposing in person. The children will be so delighted. They are quite the fans of yours good sir." Ryuudo blinked in surprise,**

"**They are?" He had never had 'fans' before. Most of the fan base their show garnered was directed to Mika and Akio.**

"**But of course! When we told them you would be making guest appearances they nearly lost their young minds." He glanced over Nicole's slender shoulder and smiled. "Speak of the little devils." Before Ryuudo could turn around he felt three small bodies impact his back and legs and three sets of small, strong arms wrap tightly around him.**

"**You're really here! I can't believe it!" cried out the young Kushina, tightly wrapped around his middle back.**

"**I have all of your action figures Ryuudo! Even the factory error one that curses!" Said Minato from his left leg.**

"**Can I have your autograph?" Asked Satsuki from his right leg. The director laughed.**

"**Now now children, let us act as professionals hmmm? Please release the kindly fishman." The three children all mewed in complaint. The director simply lowered his glasses and glared over them at the three before saying, "Don't make me call your parents now." The three turned pale and quickly released the fishman, though they all remained very close to their favorite actor. Ryuudo quietly laughed in a nervous fashion. Nicole leaned over and scooped Kushina up in her arms gently saying, **

"**Oh aren't you all the cutest children in the world." Kushina blushed and asked to be put down, to which Nicole kindly agreed. **

"**Ahem." coughed the director. All of the actors and crew hands around the set immediately turned to face the director and author of the show, faces rapt with attention. Ryuudo and Nicole noticed the action and followed suit. "That is much better. Now, ladies and gentlemen we will begin shooting scene six in five minutes. Remember that while this part of the story is chronologically following the last installment of our own series, it will be placed a year or two into the past of our guest actor's characters. Please do your best to assist our esteemed guests in fitting in and keeping up with our story during their stay." He then slowly looked over every single face in the building, stopping for a moment on each and every one. He then clapped his hands together and the entire crew shot off to their duties to ready the set to begin shooting. **

**The actors shot off to the makeup counter, Minato and Kushina leading their guests there. Minato reached across the counter and picked up a jar filled with red pills. He popped one in and drank some water in order to swallow it. Ryuudo and Nicole stared in amazement at the transformation it wrought in the twelve year old youngster. Ryuudo stammered out a statement of amazement,**

"**Y-your ears! They-"**

"**Yeah I know." chuckled Minato in response. "The director says he got these pills from a good colleague of his, I think the name was Hotspot-something or other... Anyways they alter my appearance to fit the part I play." **

"**Astounding, just like the kind he gives the others on our set." said Nicole. A member of the costume crew handed Ryuudo his concealing costume and looked Nicole over once before smiling and leaving her outfit as it was. Ryuudo grunted as he got into costume while the youngsters got on their own costumes. **

"**All actors to their marks! Shooting in two minutes." cried the deep commanding voice of the director across the building. The three youngsters lead the guest actors to their marks and approached a small set off to the side that looked like an office. At the desk sat an actor with white hair and a scar on his face and standing across the desk stood an actor with a black ponytail. "Annnnnd action!" Shouted the director, the man with a plan, who went by the name Dan.**

Chapter 6: How to Make Friends and Defend Clients

"Then here is your first C-rank mission. You are going to serve as bodyguards for a pair of young travelers as they travel from here to a large port town on the eastern coast of the continent in the land of waves. They have traveled here from the far west coast and have thus far been guarded by a team from Iwagakure, but that team was recalled to handle another matter. So to assist out allies Konoha has agreed to take over the mission from here. You will guard the two and their belongings till they have safely crossed the great Naruto bridge and then you will hand them over to the protection of a team from Kirigakure. From there your mission will be complete. They hired ninja in fear that bandits might prey upon two lone travelers. However, the protection of a squad of alliance shinobi should be enough of a deterrent to continue to keep bandits from trying anything. As such this mission has a low combat risk and should be uneventful. Do you understand your mission objectives?" The three young genin and their jōnin sensei nodded in unison and replied,

"Yes Hokage-sama." The Hokage nodded and motioned towards his assistant Moegi. She opened the office door and into the office walked two people. The first was a young woman who looked about eighteen years old. Next to her stood a very tall, heavily cloaked figure. Thick wrappings and cloaks covered all of his features, he even wore a pair of goggles over his eyes. Not an inch of his skin remained uncovered. He looked like a member of the desert tribes from the Land of Wind.

"Hello," said the young woman "my name is Nicolette Kichida, but my friends call me Nicole. This here is Ryuudo, but don't mind his clothes he's just... shy about his appearance." The cloaked figure next to her nodded and in a deep voice that sounded relatively young as well said,

"Hey."

"These are the clients." said the Hokage to team seventeen. He turned to the clients and said, "This is the team of ninja that will be taking over the protection duty you have paid for until you reach territory protected by our ally village in the east. They will protect both your persons and your belongings, you have my word." The cloaked man grunted,

"They are much younger than the last group. You allow children to fight as warriors in this land?" Minato's face erupted in anger, shouting

"Who are you calling children? I can kick your ass!" Kushina simply laughed at the foreigner's ignorance of their customs. Satsuki calmly replied to the statement

"Yes, it is quite common actually. And though we may be young we're stronger than we appear to be. We are trained shinobi, so make no mistake in thinking we are incapable." Her calm eyes met the goggled stare of the man for a moment as Kushina held Minato back from assaulting their client.

Nicole smiled at the confidence the three showed in their own abilities and placed a hand on Ryuudo's shoulder.

"It's okay Ryuudo. I feel like we can rely on them." The cloaked man seemed to relax a measure from her vocalized trust in the three, though still seemed almost ready to pounce in defense of the woman at a moment's notice. Shikamaru stepped forward and spoke up,

"You have nothing to worry about, I've been training these three kids myself and they can absolutely protect you. Besides, if it makes you feel any better know that I will be there to protect you as well." Ryuudo looked the man in his mid thirties over and relaxed another measure. Nicole smiled at the release of tension in her companion and turned to the four shinobi before her. She bowed deep and gently said,

"Thank you. We truly appreciate your protection." This calmed Minato down instantly and the three all smiled at the polite teenaged woman. "If I way ask, do you all have names you are allowed to give us that we may call you? I'm sorry, but I'm still a little sketchy on how this whole 'ninja' thing works..." Shikamaru grunted and rolled his eyes in annoyance at her innocent and apologetic ignorance.

"My name is Shikamaru Nara. The one with indigo hair is Kushina Uzumaki, the one with pink hair is Minato Lee, and the short red-head is Satsuki." Satsuki blinked in surprise at the adjective 'short' then looked at her two teammates. For the first time she realized that she was indeed the shortest on her team, by several inches in fact. She huffed in annoyance and embarrassment at the realization. Kushina kindheartedly chucked at her teammate, while Minato yawned and adjusted his earmuffs.

_Two hours later, at the gates of Konohagakure..._

"You all pack everything you need for the mission? It's gonna be about a week's travel there and about three days travel back." asked Shikamaru of the three genin all carrying large backpacks. Kushina gave a wide Uzumaki grin and said,

"Yup sensei. We're ready to go." She turned to Minato and Satsuki and asked, "Is this the first time you two have left the village?"

Minato nodded as he stared in excitement down the road away from Konoha, his home. Satsuki glared at Kushina in annoyance and replied,

"What, like you've ever left the village either?" Kushina laughed and said,

"Actually I have. I've been to Sunagakure with my uncles a few times to visit my other uncle who lives there." Satsuki glared in jealousy and annoyance at Kushina before saying,

"Big deal."

Just then a wagon rolled up to the three, pulled by a horse with the Konoha symbol on its saddle and yolk. The wagon was finely carved of wood from trees native to the west coast and in the front just behind the horse protruded a small, ornate, green dragon head, smiling wickedly. Steering the wagon sat the cloaked Ryuudo and sitting inside the cabin was the lovely Nicole.

"Cool wagon." said Minato. "Looks like it cost you a pretty penny though because that's some damn fine craftsmanship." Ryuudo's chest swelled in pride beneath his cloak and he said,

"It was free, because I built it myself right after we arrived on the west coast." The shinobi were all impressed by his skill, Kushina asked,

"Are you a carpenter or something?"

"No." answered Nicole for him, "He's one of the world's most talented shipwrights."

"That's pretty impressive. So that why you two are heading for the ocean?" asked Satsuki. The two looked at one another before Ryuudo shrugged and Nicole nodded.

"Actually we head to the ocean because that is where both of our dreams lie. We're just cutting across the continent as a..." again she looked at Ryuudo, who this time shook his head in the negative. "Shortcut." she finished. Shikamaru, being nearly impossible to fool let alone by such a poorly disguised lie, simply shrugged and said,

"Fine, if you don't want to tell us that is fine, but be warned that any misinformation can influence our mission to protect you two." The teenager fell silent for a moment, concern clear on her face. Shikamaru shrugged again and waved their concerned look off. "Oh what a pain. Relax, I wasn't pressuring you to tell us. Just wanted you two to be aware of the risk your taking." The teenagers nodded conviction at one another and she smiled at the shinobi team.

"Thank you very much, but we will leave our story as is for now." Ryuudo's deep voice then said,

"We would like to leave as soon as possible if that is okay with you."

_Later that evening..._

The young shinobi walked in a triangle formation around the wagon, with Kushina in front of the horse, Satsuki on the rear left, and Minato on the rear right. Shikamaru slept lazily on the roof of the wagon, and Ryuudo steered the wagon. Nicole had been engaging the two rear guards in pleasant conversation for a few hours at this point, while Kushina occasionally switched on her Byakugan to perform quick scans of their surroundings.

"So you've been training to become ninja since you were all seven? That is amazing!" The two smiled with pride. Nicole's face then saddened. "Your lands are all so militant... there must be so much fighting all the time here..." Minato and Satsuki looked at one another in surprise, then Satsuki asked,

"Where you come from they don't have militarism?" Nicole nodded in the negative,

"No we do, a very powerful military in fact, but most of the world out across the ocean from here is controlled under a single government, so there is little large scale conflict such as war." Minato frowned in anger.

"So instead they are simply held tight under the fascist rule of some global government? That hardly seems better." Nicole looked even sadder.

"I suppose it isn't, but there are people all over the world who spend their whole lives defying the world government and living their lives how ever they want too, for better or worse. Admittedly usually for worse. The government ends up spending most of it's time and energy trying to wrangle in those people and the oppression of the government is in most places bearable, if not invisible." Satsuki looked sad at this statement,

"How sad... here there is no single power that all answer too, in fact the greatest power here would be the Grand Alliance, and membership in it is entirely voluntary." Nicole curiously asked,

"Grand Alliance?"

"The Grand Shinobi Alliance." said Minato. "It's an organization of allied shinobi villages who support one another and through the alliances channels resolve conflict peacefully. It's lead by the five most powerful shinobi villages who founded it in a time of war, Sunagakure, Iwagakure, Kirigakure, Kumogakure, and our village Konohagakure. The leaders of these villages form the council of five shadows who lead the alliance."

Nicole was amazed that such a government system existed.

"Wow... that sounds amazing. To think that a government like that could exist." Satsuki coughed to interrupt her.

"Actually it isn't a government, it is an alliance of independent military powers, you see ninja villages are military bodies, allied with but separate from the governments of the nations they inhabit. The nation's are still separate from one another and in conflict all the time. But thanks to the Alliance, we shinobi can usually resolve those conflicts without the nations resorting to violence."

"Why wouldn't the governments be included in the alliance?" asked Nicole. Shikamaru rolled over to face the three and with one eye open responded,

"Simple, governments are easily corruptible and are greedy. The shinobi villages are internally governed democratically, thus reducing the chances of corruption. By keeping the governments out of the alliance we keep the alliance free of their corrupting influence." This being a new revelation to Satsuki and Minato as well as Nicole all three simply said,

"Oh..." From the front of the wagon Ryuudo, who had heard the whole conversation, turned and added,

"But say that corruption found it's way into the Alliance. What then? The alliance is too powerful to dissolve in that event, and powerful enough for that corruption to hurt innocents. All governments, even your alliance are fatally flawed in that people run them." Kushina, who as the most world wise on her team already knew all of this, laughed at his statement. All eyes turned to her as she wiped a tear from her eyes and reigned in her laughter. "Something funny girly?" asked Ryuudo.

"The prevention of corruption and the preservation of peace. You silly foreigner, that's what the Uzumaki are for. So long as we're around we will always make things right again." she smiled at him with all the warmth in the world, her eyes burning bright with universal love and righteousness. Her teammate Satsuki rolled her eyes at Kushina and Minato softly laughed. Shikamaru smiled with pride at the similarities he perceived between her attitude and that of his old friend. Ryuudo huffed, clearly unimpressed, but Nicole smiled and nodded at the confident young woman.

"I wish I could be that sure of myself..." whispered Nicole to herself.

_Four days later..._

The group was now witnessing the slow transformation of their surroundings, slowly fading from dense forest to open prairies as they drew closer to the coast. Nicole had grown close to the group as the days had gone by, and referred to all of them by name. Ryuudo had maintained his distance from them all, staying quiet nearly the whole trip and only speaking to Nicole. He often checked in on her, asking if she was comfortable or if she needed them to take a break to rest. She would always insist she was fine, but he never accepted her word and would often insist on breaks on her behalf. The children had fallen in love with Nicole's strange foreign cooking as she had taken their supplies and mixed them with her own to create unique meals they had never heard of every morning and evening. Shikamaru had asked her several times where she seemed to be getting all the fresh produce she always seemed to have on hand, and she would simply insist they came from inside the wagon. He had had Kushina check the inside of the wagon and she had confirmed that the only thing in the wagon besides Nicole was a large anchor and a bag filled with seeds. He had however decided that he trusted their clients and laid his suspicions about her knowing some kind of ninjutsu aside. Around noon Nicole had retreated fully into the wagon to hide from the heat of midday and the three were silently manning their positions. Kushina flipped on her Byakugan for a moment as was routine, however this time she stopped still and kept it on for a moment, squinting as if not believing her eyes. She then shouted,

"We have company! And a lot of it! Bandits, poorly armed and clearly not trained but almost forty of them! Approaching rapidly from three-o'clock!" her teammates and sensei didn't hesitate for an instant and they brought their formation in tight around the now halted wagon. Ryuudo looked around in a panic and headed towards the interior of the wagon.

Suddenly a wave of filthy looking men brandishing poorly cared for swords and spears came running out of the trees on the far side of a clearing at the wagon's three-o'clock. The men quickly made it to the wagon and slowed down to surround the wagon threateningly. Ryuudo froze an arms length from the wagon door and glared through his goggles at the bandits. A man with two large broadswords who looked to be in charge of the horde walked forward and pointed at the shinobi.

"We have no business with you ninjas. Leave if you don't want your kiddies hurt. We're here about the pair of freaks we heard were coming this way. Word is they are just freaky enough to fetch a pretty penny. So hand them over." Kushina glared at the leader and shouted,

"Konoha shinobi would never abandon their clients! We will defend them, and send you crying home to whatever hole you crawled from!" The man laughed and icy cold chuckle.

"So be it. Get 'em boys." The horde charged like wild animals at the shinobi. Ryuudo slammed open the door and grabbed a firm hold of a chain attached to the anchor. He turned to defend his companion, but was shocked at what he saw.

Only a few meters away the bandits were being decimated. He saw a pink blur fly amongst the foes, followed by the sickening crunch of breaking bones as he pummeled the bandits attempting to reach the wagon with a fighting technique that was strong, fast and fluid. Though the bandits tried to cut him with their weapons, none could land a hit as he parried their attacks with small metal knives he had heard them call shuriken. He saw Satsuki form some shapes he had never seen with her hands. She shouted,

"Fire style: Burning Finale Jutsu!" Then from her mouth erupted small fireballs that exploded like fireworks on impact with the bandits, setting groups of them on fire and outright knocking others out from impact. She mowed down rows of bandits with this technique, and soon many bandits fled from before her. He then saw piles of unconscious men surrounding Kushina. He puzzled over how she knocked them out so quickly when he saw her fighting in the midst of the bandits as they all tried to hit the young shinobi. She skillfully deflected their attacks with only her hands by attacking their arms before their weapons made complete swings at her. He then saw her give three open handed punches to one of the men's head, one on each temple then one on the middle forehead. She left behind in those locations three paper tags covered in strange runes that then glowed for a moment. She cried out,

"Combat Seal: Unconsciousness Seals!" The man crumpled unconscious on the ground before her as she continued to fight the other bandits. He turned to see Shikamaru still on top of the wagon, watching only half interestedly. Ryuudo recovered from his shock and yanked the chain hard, hurling the anchor at a group of bandits distracted by Satsuki's attacks. His anchor bowled over dozens of the bandits and he then realized just how weak their opponents were.

From inside the wagon Nicole watched with sadness at the violence ensuing in her defense, feeling responsible for the whole situation. She saw the three children fighting for her safety and felt in her heart it was wrong to expect that from such young children. Shikamaru suddenly appeared next to her in the wagon, and she jumped in surprise.

"You don't need to feel guilty. This is our job, even if it is a pain in the ass sometimes. It's not your fault the bandits showed up, it's their own fault for being bothersome idiots. Fighting to defend your friends isn't the same as fighting for yourself." She gave him a look of confusion, so he elaborated. "Fighting for yourself is wrong, it's greed. But fighting for your friends, that isn't greed. It isn't wrong to fight for those people. Our precious people. Think on that, and please enough with the guilt." He rolled his eyes at her and disappeared. She looked down at her hands and gently smiled at his kind words.

Outside the battle was nearly over, as the last few bandits were beaten senseless by Minato's lightning fast fists. The leader lay wheezing with his broken ribs and Shikamaru walked over to tower over him.

"That really wasn't smart, taking on a team of shinobi. Have you guys ever even held weapons before?"

The leader turned his head in shame and ignored the man.

"Fine, have it your way. You're not even worth arresting. We're leaving and if you value your lives you won't follow us. You're lucky you fought genin because anyone else would have just killed you all. At least you all survived. Be grateful of that." Ryuudo put away the anchor and got the wagon moving down the path again, as the genin reformed their traveling formation and excitedly chattered amongst themselves over how amazing their first real battle had been. Minato turned to Ryuudo and asked,

"Were you swinging around an anchor back there?" Ryuudo was quiet for a minute before answering,

"Yes." Minato waited for him to elaborate, but he did not. So instead he whistled and said,

"Wow, you must be really strong to swing an anchor. But you know it seems like a weapon with a lot of weaknesses. Even with your strength it takes a while to make a full rotation, so anyone with some speed can run right past your weapon and get at you."

Ryuudo remained silent at this statement, trying to ignore the child, despite the fact he knew him to be correct and had nearly fallen victim to this flaw several times already. Satsuki spoke up adding,

"I would add a smaller, faster weapon on the other end of the chain, you know to defend yourself with if the occasion arises." Ryuudo grunted while under his cloak his cheeks turned red with embarrassment at not having thought of that himself. Nicole could tell he was reacting this way and her sad expression lightened slightly.

_Three days later at the Great Naruto Bridge..._

The group sat around a campfire at the outskirts of the small village that lay just beyond the edge the Land of Waves side of the bridge. Shikamaru sighed in annoyance, wondering aloud,

"Where could they be? The team from Kiri should already have been waiting for us to make the hand off." Ryuudo stared at the village, suspicious of the delay in their guard change. The children however were lightheartedly sharing stories with Nicole.

"So I beat him to within an inch of his life, hahahaha. That taught him to keep his hands to himself." said Kushina laughing at Minato's expense.

"I didn't do it on purpose..." Satsuki blushed and looked at him dreamily.

"He just couldn't keep his hands off of me forever could he. I just think he needs to wait a few years is all."

"It was an accident Satsuki!" shouted the blushing boy. Nicole simply laughed at them all. She then looked over and noticed Kushina was once again rummaging around in a small sack she kept in her backpack.

"Kushina what are you doing? Every night you rummage through that same bag." Minato and Satsuki shared a knowing smile and ignored the conversation they each had already had with the girl. Kushina looked up and blinked in surprise before smiling and asking,

"Would you like to see?" she pulled out of the sack a small photo frame and carefully passed it to Nicole. Nicole took it and looked it over for a minute before her instincts recognized what it was. Although the outfits were foreign to her, as were the altar like surroundings she just knew that it was a wedding photo. In the photo stood two young adults hand in hand on a altar, the man wearing a formal garb of orange and black, and the woman wearing an all white gown. They both smiled brighter than Nicole had ever seen anyone smile before in her life. Her eyes darted up for a moment before she blushed and looked back at the photo. After her blush subsided she then realized that the two looked familiar. The woman had the same eyes and hair color as Kushina, and the man had the same hair type and facial structure as the girl.

"Oh! They're your parents. You must miss them so much when you're on missions like this." she gave Kushina a warm and understanding smile while she handed her back the photo. Kushina laughed and said,

"No more than at any other time."

"What do you mean? Are they always off on missions themselves?"

"No hehehe, they are just dead." Nicole's smile shattered at the girls casual reference to the death of her own parents.

"Oh my! I'm so sorry! I didn't think... You must miss them so much. I can't imagine how hard it must be." Kushina laughed again.

"Oh I'm not sorry. They both lived really full lives, lives with no regrets. And yeah I miss them all the time, but it's not so hard. I know they loved me and for me that's more than enough." Nicole was in awe at the girls wisdom and strength. "Besides I have my uncles to look after me. I say goodnight to them every night using this photo. That's why I keep it with me even out here." She put the photo away and turned her smile back to Nicole. "Is there anyone you think that you couldn't bear to loose?" Nicole blushed and nodded slightly in the affirmative. Kushina laughed and said "I bet they feel the same way about you. But neither of you is right. The only bad thing about death is that we think we have lost the person forever. But we haven't, because in their memory lives a part of them that can never die." Nicole smiled and hugged the wise young girl.

"Thank you Kushina, you know an awful lot for such a young girl."

"Shishishi, I guess I get it from my parents."

Shikamaru looked up and saw a hawk flying straight for their location. He stood and put out his arm, which the bird alighted on and held out one of it's legs. He removed a paper from that leg and let the hawk fly away again. He unrolled it and read it before pocketing it and addressing the genin.

"Guys, we have news." The three assembled before him for their debrief of the situation. "Kiri's team had to be recalled for another matter that Kiri deemed more important. They asked us to finish the mission ourselves and see them to the far east coast, then aid them in getting themselves transportation."

"Cool!" said Kushina. "We get to hang out with Nicole some more!" The other two snickered in agreement as everyone laid out for sleep.

_Six days later..._

"Well here we are, the farthest east coast town." said Shikamaru to the group as they all stared out at the infinite mass of the ocean. The salty spray felt to Ryuudo like a welcoming home, and he had to fight off the urge to hurl himself into the ocean and not care who sees. "Now we need to find them passage across the sea, which will not be easy since most local sailors refuse to go too far out to sea."

"That will not be a problem." said Ryuudo, surprising the others greatly, except for Nicole of course. "I can build us a ship. I will simply need your assistance with the gathering of materials and I will have the ship done within a week."

And so they all set out to locate a tree with what Ryuudo had called 'the right wood' although the shinobi were confused as to why he had told them that even a single tree would be enough. It was Satsuki who stumbled upon a tree, a tree native to the region known as a woolwood. The wood was renowned for being among the strongest of woods, while still being light as wool . Ryuudo asked Minato to retrieve a seed from the tree, then handed that seed to Nicole. She walked off towards the shore and asked them all to stay with Ryuudo. Kushina however couldn't help but peek with her Byakugan, and what she saw amazed her. Nicole planted the seed and with a wave of her arms a whole grove of massive woolwood trees stood before her. Kushina told Shikamaru, who said he had already assumed as much and that she could ignore it for now. The group then set to work cutting down and carving the wood Ryuudo needed. Following a detailed plan he had provided to them they created for him everything he needed, they even purchased a sail for the ship from the nearby town, although Satsuki kept trying to alter his plans, insisting she could make 'improvements.' Only six days later, and after a few feats of inhuman strength on Ryuudo's part that amazed the shinobi, Ryuudo had finished the ship. The finishing touch was a figure head that they all had a hand in creating,

"To give the ship the gift of our eternal friendship" as Nicole put it.

"So what's it going to be called?" asked Minato. Ryuudo stopped, and said.

"Actually... I'm not sure, I had not given the name any thought yet."

"It's the Draco Bliss!" Said Kushina. "So that those it carries will always know strength and happiness."

_The evening the ship was complete..._

"It has been quite the adventure visiting this land." said Nicole. Kushina was openly crying as Satsuki and Minato both held back tears.

"We're never going to be able to visit you!" cried Kushina. "We'll never see you again!"

"Now now." said Nicole. "I'm sure we will see each other again. Friendships like ours are almost magical that way." She comfortingly winked at the three, which combined with her words stopped the waterworks from Kushina. Shikamaru walked up to Ryuudo and put out his hand. Ryuudo looked down at it, then back up to Shikamaru's face.

"You want to shake my hand? We've barely spoken this entire trip."

"You've barely spoken to anyone this entire trip, it was really bothersome. Your too quiet, you will never make it through life if you cut yourself off from others. I know Nicole is great but you need other people too you know." Under his cloak Ryuud blushed hard. "Besides, we fought alongside one another, that is better than a thousand conversations. So... friends?" Ryuudo took one last look at the hand before slowly taking it in his iron grip and shaking it.

"Very well, friends." Shikamaru smiled and patted him on his broad shoulder.

"That's the spirit." Ryuudo loaded the remainder of their belongings onto the ship and assisted Nicole in boarding the magnificent vessel. The shinobi waved at the ship as Ryuudo weighed anchor. Nicole leaned over the railing and waved back at them all, tears in her eyes.

"We will miss you! Someday we will see you all again I promise!"

"We'll be waiting Nicole!" shouted back Kushina. The shinobi watched as the ship sailed off into the distance, and did not move a muscle until they could no longer see the ship at all.

"Well, guess it's time to head back, what a bother this mission was. Come on guys." said Shikamaru, taking off at a shadow blur, followed by the genin.

_Out at sea on the Draco Bliss..._

Ryuudo shrugged off the cloaks and dove into the ocean, letting his severely dried out skin absorb some moisture and finally using his gills again after so long away from the ocean. Nicole laughed at his eagerness to swim again. She took one last look towards the disappearing coast line of the continent as they set out to follow their dreams. She knew in her heart that she would see them again, one way or another.

_**Dear Readers,**_

**Greetings readers. I apologize again for the prolonged absence, but I promise that I'm back to stay. Just to clarify, in case any had not yet figured it out, this is indeed a crossover chapter. It is a crossover between my Naruto fanfiction and my esteemed colleague Hotspot0626's One Piece fanfiction. The title of their story is "One Piece: Rise of the Pirate Queen" and I highly recommend reading it. The bold type at the start was a play off of the second chapter of their Omake for their fanfiction. It is set in the past of their fanfiction, so as not to disrupt their story and still allow me to bring two of their characters over to my fanfiction. As always I encourage the submission of reviews, as well as the submission of Original Characters. Thank you all so much for helping me hit two thousand hits with this story. Please keep reading and thinking. Remember that democracy cannot work if everyone is only concerned for themselves, and have a great week.**

_**Love,**_

_**Danthemanwithaplan7**_


	8. Chapter 7: Questions With and Without

I hope that all who read this find enjoyment in doing so.

Dedicated to my best friend. And no, I am not buying 'World of Warcraft'. Sorry buddy.

I regret to inform you my readers that I am not the owner of Naruto and no matter how much we want it, I cannot make Kishimoto bring Naruto and Hinata together to have little Hyuga-Uzumaki babies.

Chapter 7: Questions, Some With Answers, Some Without

The rising sun reflected golden light off of the grassy meadows as team seventeen reached the mainland side of the Great Naruto Bridge. The genin basked in the glow of their perfectly successful C-Rank mission. They flew through the tree tops, leaping from branch to branch on their way back to Konoha.

"That was so incredible. I hope we get to see Nicole again someday. She was really nice." said Kushina to the group.

"Yeah me too." agreed Minato. He adjusted his earmuffs as they started to slip from the jostling of their tree jumping. Satsuki saw this action and finally her curiosity got the better of her.

"Hey Minato-kun. Honestly why do you wear those earmuffs _all_ the time? You always lie and say your ears get cold but you wear a tank top everywhere you go." Minato turned bright red and refused to look at anyone, as they were all looking at him now. Shikamaru slapped his palm on his forehead at the girls foolish question and sighed heavily. "You can trust me Minato-kun, nothing can change how I feel about you," she batted her eyelashes at him, "not even nasty troll ears." Minato adjusted the earmuffs and remained silent. Kushina slowly moved her hands together and was about to form a hand seal when suddenly Minato jumped at her and swatted away the hand sign.

"Kushina! How many times have I told you? I don't want you peeking at me with those Byakugan of yours! It would feel weird for you to look beneath my clothes!" Kushina puffed out her cheeks in a display of stubbornness.

"Not your clothes just your earmuffs! I'm not a pervert! Besides what is the big deal? We've been best friends for years and you still won't show me what your hiding?"

"I'm not hiding anything alright! I just... like wearing them?" Their flat expressions showed their complete disbelief in his pathetic attempt at lying. He grunted in frustration at them both. "They were given to me by my parents alright! They... make me feel... I don't know... safer I guess." At this they both looked surprised.

"What?" said Kushina in disbelief.

"I was really really shy when I was little. My parents were always trying to get me to go out and play with other kids but I would just... ugh... run and hide, I guess. Then, one day while my mom was giving me a haircut, my dad gave me a pair of earmuffs." Minato looked off into the distance to hide his expression from his teammates. They were both silent, waiting for the rest of the story. "He told me that the earmuffs were special ninja tools. He said that they were imbued by Hokage-sama himself with my dad's old master's confidence. According to him ninja used them to give themselves confidence when going on scary missions, and that the earmuffs took away their fears and replaced them with youthful energy and confidence. And after my haircut when I put them on... I just... didn't feel afraid anymore." Kushina could tell he wasn't lying and blinked in surprise at Minato's father being capable of such an intelligent ploy. Satsuki looked like she was fighting back tears of sympathy. "I know he was lying to me, and I grew too big for that pair of earmuffs a long time ago... but... I still have them... at my house. And I still can't bring myself to go out in public without earmuffs on..."

Although Shikamaru knew the truth of the situation, he had never hear this side of the story before and was also amazed at Minato's dependance on a psychological support of this kind. He subconsciously reached into his pocket and ran his thumb over the rusty old lighter that he kept there. Kushina spoke up,

"You know Minato, you don't need to be afraid around us. We're not going to make you but... if you wanted to take them off... it would really mean a lot to me to know you trust me that much."

"Minato-kun that is so touching!" Satsuki said through a flood of tears. "I would never make you take them off! I'm so sorry that I even brought it up! You have nothing to be afraid off because I will always be by your side to help you through anything!" Minato couldn't look at them. He mentally sighed in relief that they weren't going to force the issue anymore, but at the same time he felt remorse at having to deceive his closest friends. For a moment he considered taking up their offer. He looked at Shikamaru, who gave him a steady look. In his eyes he communicated to Minato that it was up to him to decide for himself. He looked away, and considered the possible ramifications. The questions that would be asked, most of which he himself had no answers too. He grunted, then turned to them with a smile and said,

"Thanks girls, that means a lot to me but... I just don't feel comfortable doing that. I'll keep them on if that's okay with you both."

"Of course it is Minato-kun!" immediately replied Satsuki. A drop of sweat rolled down the side of Minato's head and he said,

"Thanks Satsuki." Kushina simply smiled at her best friend and then turned back to the path before them. Shikamaru smiled at the confrontation being nicely, and safely, resolved.

'The last thing those three need right now is to be having _that_ conversation.' he thought to himself.

They all continued on in silence for a few hours, making their way back towards the border of the Land of Fire. The soil slowly transitioned from a sandy loam to clay. The meadows became fewer and further between as the forests became denser. Around noon, Shikamaru gave a hand signal to the three behind him. They all nodded and began to slow down for a quick break. They leapt down to the forest floor and Shikamaru turned to his wards.

"Alright kids, let's break for lunch to keep this trip from getting troublesome."

"Finally. Thanks sensei, I'm starving." said Minato.

"Then you should have eaten breakfast." Kushina laughed as she pulled her pack out and began rummaging around in it for her food satchel. Minato huffed at her and retorted,

"Habits are hard to break. I haven't been allowed to eat breakfast when I woke up since I was six. I'm used to eating hours after I've woken up." Satsuki turned to him and giggled in as cute a manner as she could.

"Minato-kun works out so much in the mornings, that's how his body got so hot, tehehe." Minato choked on air and blushed in embarrassment.

"Satsuki! Seriously, not appropriate!" he shouted at the girl. She simply giggled even more and blushed.

"Awwww, you are so cute when you are embarrassed Minato-kun." He grunted and descended to rummage in his own bag. Shikamaru looked up from the apple he was eating to look at Kushina.

"Kushina. You forgot to perform the perimeter sweep when we stopped. Come on now is it really that hard to remember?" Kushina dropped her bag at the realization and said,

"Oh! Sorry sensei, I totally forgot! I'm so sorry!" She formed the hand seal and activated her Byakugan.

"Stop apologizing, it's a drag to listen to. Just do it." he rolled his eyes at his student. "It's an important habit for you to develop because with your kekkai genkai you will always be responsible for preventing abush-" before he could finish Kushina gasped and in one clean motion, pulled five kunai from her pouch, spun around two-hundred and eighty degrees, and threw the kunai at a branch in a nearby tree. Shikamaru and her other teammates immediately dropped what they were doing and formed up into a battle ready formation next to Kushina. They all heard the kunai thump into the wood of the tree, and saw Kushina frantically searching around them with her eyes. They knew the enemy had dodged, which meant they were a trained shinobi at the very least. Shikamaru detected something and threw a few kunai of his own at another tree on their flank, only to hear his kunai hit wood as well. Everything was completely silent for a few moments, as all four searched out for the enemy. Suddenly Kushina gasped as she relocated the enemy and spun around to the empty space in the middle of their formation. As she turned around, a girl's scream sounded from the three o'clock of their formation, and the three others turned to see Satsuki held at knife-point by her jugular. The man holding the kunai to her throat from behind her was smiling over her shoulder at her.

The man was of average height, around five foot ten, and had slightly tanned skin. He wore a cowhide print tee-shirt over under-armor netting, and holding up his long tan pants was a thick purple rope tied in a large knot at the back. His short, messy blonde hair hung over the headband on his forehead which had a music note on it. He had a shallow nose below aquamarine eyes whose pupils were slitted like a reptiles, and his grin showed that all of his teeth were long, narrow and pointed. He laughed at them as he held Satsuki helpless in his grasp. He spoke in a high pitched masculine voice that was raspy, as if his tongue was to long for his mouth.

"Wow, seriously I was beginning to think you would never notice me tailing you." he licked his teeth with a long narrow tongue and looked at Kushina. "I admit that I was expecting more from the daughter of the world's most famous shinobi." He leaned down and said close to Satsuki's ear, "But then again, she was the one who finally noticed me, which is more than I can say for the other two kiddies." Satsuki glared over her shoulder at the man, seemingly with enough courage to withstand the killing intent he exuded. Kushina shook uncontrollably as she looked deep into the man's eyes and felt for the first time in her life the presence of pure killing intent. Images of the man slashing out Satsuki's throat flashed before her eyes, and she lost her grip on the shuriken she had drawn. Minato simply shook with anger at the man, unable to remain calm as the man's killing intent brought back horrible memories of the vivid sensations from the nightmares that plagued him in his sleep. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes in recognition of the man and said,

"Hosja the Basilisk... what are you doing here?" he narrowed his eyes and in an angry voice said, "I swear that if you harm a single hair on her head that you will not be walking away from this place alive." Hosja nodded his understanding, his toothy smile never faltering. Shikamaru looked him up and down then said, "Otogakure wouldn't dare authorize a direct attack on alliance shinobi. The retaliation would be disastrous for them, so what's your game?" Hosja laughed aloud, shaking his head as if this was all a bad joke.

"No, no, no. You all misunderstand my intentions. You see as much as I would like to kill this girl right here then kill that little pink one then slaughter you Shikamaru 'The Genius' Nara, and I would _really_ like to do that, it would violate my orders." he laughed and released Satsuki from his grasp. She stumbled over closer to her friends and collapsed on the ground glaring up at the man. "I have been sent here to talk, actually." He turned his inhuman eyes to Kushina once again and grinned. "To you in fact, little Uzumaki." Kushina felt the killing intent disappear and shock overtook her face as her mind registered what she had just heard him say.

"What? Me? Why?" Hosja gave her a smile that from anyone else would have seemed warm and reassuring. However she could see the wicked enjoyment hiding just beneath it.

"I have been sent here on an outreach mission by my lord Otokage." Hosja then bowed low to Kushina. "He would like to extend his arm in friendship to the last Uzumaki, and make you a very compelling offer." Kushina's jaw dropped at the gesture of respect from the sound shinobi, and Shikamaru stepped over to stand between her and Hosja.

"What kind of offer..." Shikamaru said warily. Hosja looked back up, still in the bow and wearing the same false smile, then said,

"He would like to offer Kushina Uzumaki a place in Otogakure, as a sound shinobi." All four leaf shinobi looked at him in complete shock. "You would become an honorary noble of the Land of Sound, as would all of your descendants. Our feudal lord has agreed to appoint the Uzumaki as a noble clan should you agree to join us. You and your descendants would be given the exclusive right to either refuse or accept mission assignments, giving you freedom to keep your own safe or uphold any sense of shinobi morality you choose to keep. You would be given a great deal of land and wealth to care for your clan and Otogakure would afford you and your descendants protection and reverence the likes of which you will receive nowhere else." Kushina was dumbfounded, unable to even respond in the face of being courted by a shinobi village. Minato looked over at Kushina, a mixture of confusion and anger apparent on his face. He shouted at Kushina,

"Well? Tell him no already! You're not seriously considering betraying the leaf, I know you're not! Tell him no!" Kushina only heard a distant muffled voice as she stared into the eyes of the sound shinobi.

"I... I-I..."

"Fuck off!" suddenly shouted Satsuki at the top of her lungs. "Listen up you reptilian bastard, Kushina will never, **Never**, accept that offer!" Minato looked at her fury in surprise, and she caught the attention of Kushina in her stupor. Kushina looked at her teammate and rival with a blank expression. "She is an Uzumaki! And she takes her heritage more seriously than anyone else I've ever met! She has told me time and time again all about the great Uzumaki, the guardians of peace, the champions of the meek, and the loyal shinobi of Konoha!" She shook with anger, and pointed an accusatory finger at Hosja. "How dare you suggest she betray that! Betray who she is!"

"Yeah! Tell your Otokage to go eat shit!" shouted Minato. Satsuki turned to Kushina and with an open hand slapped her across the face. The pain shook Kushina from the stupor, and she looked up at her redheaded rival. Satsuki smirked and confidently said,

"Right Kushina?"

Kushina suddenly flew back to reality and glared at the Basilisk. "That's right! Forget it!" Hosja's false smile remained unchanged as he rose from his bow. Kushina turned to Satsuki and said, "Sorry I took so long." Satsuki's smirk widened and she nodded at her.

"You've said your piece. I think it's time for you to leave..." said Shikamaru in a threatening tone. Hosja ignored the jōnin and kept looking at Kushina.

"Are you sure? This offer is quite lucrative for one seeking to repopulate an endangered clan."

"I said no!"

"Fine, think on it and get back to us. The offer will be waiting for you when you're ready to accept it." he chuckled sadistically as he hurled a kunai at Minato, purposefully missing and grazing his left shoulder leaving a long shallow wound. He then turned around and began to calmly walk away. As he left, over his shoulder he said, "And the Otokage _just might_ be inclined to allow your little friends here to come with you when you join us... if he is in a good mood when you ask. Just saying." He disappeared into the woods, walking calmly and confidently.

Minato growled and reached a green glowing palm over to heal his shoulder. Shikamaru turned to look at the genin, asking,

"You guys okay? He was exerting an awful lot of killing intent there for a minute." The three nodded to their sensei. Kushina dropped to her knee's before collapsing asleep on the ground. Minato rushed over to check on her and Satsuki looked surprised as Shikamaru knowingly nodded. "She took the killing intent the hardest of all of you. It's a drag for us but it looks like she is emotionally spent from the encounter. We will have to camp somewhere till she can travel again." He leaned down and scooped the young Uzumaki up, gently throwing her over his shoulder. Minato walked over and shouldered both his own pack and Kushina's, while Satsuki scouted out a little ways ahead for a place to safely camp.

_Later that night..._

Kushina awoke with a start, sitting straight up then realizing she was in a sleeping bag. She looked over to see Minato and Satsuki sleeping in their own bags on either side of her. By the light of the campfire she saw Shikamaru sitting nearby looking at her.

"Shikamaru-sensei! Where? Oh... right. I'm sorry I passed out, I just-" Shikamaru raised a hand to stop her.

"It's fine Kushina, many great shinobi had trouble in their first encounter with powerful killing intent. You recovered quickly once you were shocked out of it so don't be hard on yourself." Kushina took a deep breath and visibly relaxed.

"You're right, thank you sensei. I just need do my best to not make the same mistake again." Shikamaru smiled and nodded approval at how wise beyond her years his student was.

"And don't worry about Otogakure. We will tell the Hokage and he will make sure they get the message to keep their distance from you." He looked at her face for a moment then added, "Your parent's would be proud of how you handled that." Kushina gave an Uzumaki grin.

"They are always proud of me. I know it." Shikamaru smiled.

"Yeah, I bet they are." Kushina then raised a hand to her chin and took on a contemplative expression.

"I wounder how we can break this to my uncles without them taking off by themselves to try and destroy Otogakure... hmmmmm." Shikamaru turned pale as he realized that his two childhood friends may just blame him for not preventing what happened.

_A few days travel later, in the office of the Hokage..._

"This is unacceptable. We may no longer bear any open hostilities with Otogakure, but they have crossed the line in approaching you with that offer." said the Hokage. His anger was unlike anything the three genin had ever felt before. It was a calm, calculating, cold fury which dripped from the Hokage's every word, which only served to make it more terrifying. "I will see to it that a message finds it's way to their ears. This will not happen again Kushina, I promise you as the Hokage." Kushina smiled warmly at him, apparently immune to the intimidating presence of an angry Kage.

"Thanks Hokage Ojī-san. You're the best." Both the Hokage and his assistant choked on air at this reference to his age, and sweat beads rolled down the sides of her teammates faces at her casual disrespect towards the Hokage. Shikamaru simply sighed in frustration, thinking to himself,

'Sometimes I wish she was less like her father.'

The Hokage regained his composure and cleared his throat before saying,

"I'm not that old Kushina, I'm only forty-nine you know."

"I know that." she said with a grin, "And that really is pretty old Hokage Ojī-san." At this the Hokage fell out of his chair, while Minato tried desperately to suppress laughter and Satsuki sighed in annoyance with her teammate.

"I'm sorry Hokage-sama, she doesn't know what she's talking about. Forty-nine is really quite young, and they say fifty is the new forty." said Satsuki. The Hokage got back into his chair and was immediately surrounded in a gloomy aura from her shameless ass kissing.

"Just leave... you're dismissed." The three all made their way out of the office, Shikamaru however remained in his spot. After the door had been closed behind them by Moegi, he addressed the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama. There is more we must talk about. We received some interesting information from out clients about the rest of the world beyond the sea." The Hokage looked up and waved the statement off.

"No we haven't. We know all about the world across the oceans. A crew of sailors calling themselves 'pirates' traced the coastline a few years back. They were creating a map of the world and requested we give them maps of the interior of the continent. We complied and they shared with us maps of the outside world and a great deal of information about it as well." Shikamaru blinked in surprise and leaned across the desk as he frantically asked,

"What? Why don't I know about this? This is serious! We might have to fight of an invasion from a global government at some point in time!"

"Calm down Shikamaru, technically you shouldn't be hearing this from me at all as the council of shadows deemed this to be a secret kept between the Kages. But from what we know the outside world is terrified of us so we don't need to worry to greatly." He then touched his chin and looked up in a recollective pose. "They were quite the bizarre group of people, that crew. Captain kept calling himself a king for some reason. Anyways, there is nothing to worry about Shikamaru." He then looked directly across the table at the jōnin. "But that isn't all that happened over the mission is it? What else do you need to tell me?" Shikamaru nodded and looked out the window.

"They were bothering Minato about his earmuffs again, and I could see in his eyes all the unanswered questions he still has himself. He will only become more and more curious. What do I do if he asks me outright? I don't feel it would be fair to lie to him about it." The Hokage sighed and looked at his desk for a moment before answering.

"If he asks outright, but isn't yet already certain, then send him to his parents to ask them. It's only right that it be left to them as Naruto intended."

"And if he is already certain?"

"Then you tell him. No lies, no concealment. The truth, the whole truth from the beginning. And still send him to talk it over with his parents. We must handle this better than those who have come before us. We owe it to him." Shikamaru sighed and nodded agreement.

"Alright then. I'll be going." He turned and bowed to the Hokage then left the office. The Hokage stood and created a few shadow clones. The clones set about getting him caught up on paperwork as he headed for the door.

"I'm going for a walk Moegi, if anything important comes up dispel one of the clones and I'll return."

"Yes Hokage-sama... and Hokage-sama?"

"Yes Moegi?"

"... You are doing better than your predecessors with Minato... He is happy and loved...and always has been. Don't be to hard on yourself okay?" The Hokage laughed and smiled at his assistant.

"Thanks Moegi, I needed that. Be back later." He closed the door behind himself and ascended to the roof of the Hokage's mansion.

He looked up at the cliff face, at the single grinning figure that looked out over the village. "So Naruto... how am I doing? Hard to follow behind you as far as being Hokage goes but... I think I'm doing alright." He sighed heavily and closed his eye. "How did you accomplish so much so fast? It was as if from the minute you became Hokage you were racing against time. Trying to fulfill all of your promises as quickly as possible, no matter the personal consequences. Lord knows that in the months before your illness you became obsessed with creating contingency plans for anything and everything. So many plans you made, in those eight months 'Just in case.' became your favorite phrase. Well, your plan for Minato is going well so far. I only hope that he can stay blissfully unaware as long as possible, for his sake and the villages. You know there are still some people that every year try to figure out who you gave it too? It's like a damned witch hunt every year on the anniversary. We throw them off the trail, but you said that once he knows about it then the whole village must be told. What was your thinking there? How will this grand plan of yours unfold Naruto?" Again he sighed, resigning himself to finding out when the time came. He then reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a little orange book, the cover of which reach, Make-Out Revelations by Naruto Uzumaki.

_In a popular tsukemen bar in a familiar corner of Konoha..._

"Yosh! Tsukemen time!" shouted Minato as he broke apart his chopsticks and dug into his food. On his left Satsuki was enjoying her own tsukemen, while on his right Kushina was shooting them both dirty looks.

"How can you eat that stuff guys?" she asked.

"Now, now Kushina. Liking tsukemen over ramen isn't a crime." said the middle-aged brunette woman cooking behind the counter. While she cooked her son who looked to be about seventeen was running around taking orders and serving customers. "Here is your Uzumaki special, lets just eat and let eat hmm?" She set in front of Kushina a bowl of ramen so massive it could have been used as a shield. It was filled with fishcakes, lobster tails, fried eggs and slices of barbeque pork. Kushina immediately lost interest in scolding her friends and began to devour the ramen as if she hadn't eaten in weeks.

"Thank you Ayame! It's delicious!" she cried out in between mouthfuls of noodles, prompting Ayame to laugh to herself. As the three ate, the curtain to the street was pushed aside and three youths made their way in to sit next to Kushina Minato and Satsuki. Satsuki looked over and shouted out,

"Guys! Great to see you!" the other two turned and also recognized their academy friends sitting next to them. Chouma leaned over and hugged Satsuki, while Inoko gave a peace sign and Shikamari lazily waved at them.

"Long time no see eh Minato?" said Inoko. "You guys been as busy as we have?"

"If not busier. We haven't had a single break between missions yet, just back to back to back. Then again Satsuki needed the money so it's cool I guess."

"Don't get me started," said Shikamari. "Our sensei has us working like dogs. Whenever we're not on missions he has us training. It's a pain in the ass."

"I like it!" Cheerfully said Chouma. "Our sensei is, like, really cool and stuff. He says, like, that we need to improve our Ino-Shika-Cho formations if we, like, want to start C-Rank missions." Kushina's chest swelled with pride as she said,

"We just got back from our first C-Rank mission. We even got to beat up some wimpy bandits." Their friends jaws dropped.

"Seriously? Lucky..." said Inoko.

"Nah." said Minato, "Combat kinda sucks, it's all chaotic and you gotta seriously hurt people and it's just pretty awful."

"Oh come on Minato-kun, I saw how much you were enjoying beating up those bandits." said Satsuki. Minato grunted and blushed before looking away and shoveling more tsukemen into his mouth.

_Later that night..._

"Well it was great catching up but we gotta get some shut eye. Let's make sure we make more time for each other from now on okay guys?" said Inoko as the six left Ichiraku's together.

"Count on it." replied Kushina confidently. The six set out in different directions, save for Satsuki who took off following Minato towards his house.

"So Minato-kun..." She started while nervously scratching the back of her head with a blush on her face. "If we're not on a mission Thursday night... do you want to do something together?" Minato stopped and blinked in surprise at her boldness.

"What? Are... you asking me... on a date?" Minato asked. She looked at the sky and briefly touched the bridge of her nose as she said,

"Maybe. Depends on if you say yes." Minato looked away and blushed. He adjusted his earmuffs as he said,

"I don't know Satsuki... I don't think I like you that way..."

"But _I_ like y_ou_ that way. Isn't that enough for just one date?"

"I... I don't think so, sorry Satsuki. I just... don't want to get your hopes up when I don't feel the same right now."

"Right now? So there is hope!" she cried out as she skipped off down the street towards her own apartment, a blissful smile spread across her face.

"What? No, I... Wait, no you misunderstood!" he cried out after her.

"Don't worry Minato-kun. I'll keep on asking, and one day you will say yes I'm sure of it!" she shouted back as she rounded a corner. Minato walked over to the nearest building and beat his head against the wall. The swirl of emotions he had been trying to decipher remained unclear to him. His heart beat had picked up when she asked him.

'But was it from embarrassment, me liking it, flattery, feeling bad for her or just not wanting to hurt my friend's feelings? I don't know... ugh.' Unable to read his own tangled emotions on the issue, he placed the issue aside in his mind to be riddle out on a later date. 'I'll figure it out later.' he thought as he headed back towards his home, excited to tell his parents about the mission.

_**Dear Readers,**_

**Hello again. I filled this chapter with exciting hints and revelations for you to sink your teeth into. Otogakure is indeed still around, and has formed into an actual centralized village since the war. I hope that the mystery surrounding Minato's ears is bothering you because I have a feeling that you want to finally be clear on what it is just as much as I want to reveal it to you. Sadly this will not happen for a while yet, so we will all have to be patient. I still look forward to and enjoy reviews, so please submit some. If anyone would like to contribute an original character please send it to me through a private message, so as not to let everybody in on it till they enter the story. I have a very, VERY special need for a large number of** original characters** of a very specific type, so if you would like to help out send me a private message and I will privately tell you what this special need is for. It's an exciting time in this story, as the genin are starting to develop the skill and abilities that will make all of the coming combat scenes exciting. So please keep reading, enjoy reading, and please do not continue this perpetual lack of feedback that has plagued this story thus far. Enjoy your life, and hug your loved ones!**

_**Love,**_

_**Danthemanwithaplan7**_


	9. Chapter 8: Youthful Party Occasion

I hope that all who read this find enjoyment in doing so.

Dedicated to my best seriously, he is deserving of this continued dedication. He is awesome.

I do not own Naruto or any of it's epic characters, the epic Kishimoto-san does.

Chapter 8: Youthful Party Occasion

_Early one morning in Konoha..._

The sun shone into the apartment between the curtains to fall upon the face of the sleeping red headed shinobi. She stirred beneath the covers, raising them to cover her head and allow herself to ignore the start of the day in favor of remaining asleep. For a few moments she succeeded, however just as she reached out to return to the cusp of sleep, her plan was foiled. A loud series of wooden thuds resounded throughout the apartment. At first she remained perfectly still, attempting to ignore the intrusion of reality into her lazy plan. However after a moment another series of wooden thuds resounded, this series louder and more rapid than the last. With a very unladylike groan Satsuki threw the covers from her body and proceeded to roll off of her bed and onto her feet.

"I'm coming, you can stop knocking!" she shouted across her apartment, intending for the visitor she knew to be at her door to hear the command. She tugged on the hem of her gray pajama top as she slowly walked across her apartment to her front door, dragging her feet behind her and rubbing sleep from her eyes while yawning loudly. Upon reaching her front door she leaned her forehead against the door while she peered with one eye through the door's peephole. In the circularly warped image she saw Minato standing at her doorway, wearing his usual clothing minus his ninja tool pouch, and an impatient look on his face. "M-Minato-kun?"

"Yeah me. Can you open up already Satsuki? I'm here to pick you up."

"W-what?" Her face flushed as bright a red as her hair and she held her hands to her cheeks. 'Pick me up? We don't have a mission today, or any group training scheduled. Does he want to take me on a date? Am I ready for this?' She then looked down at herself and yelped in realization. 'I'm not wearing pants! I'm in my jamies! Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! I've gotta make myself decent for our date!' She turned and pressed her ear to the door as she shouted to her long time crush, "Hold on just one second okay Minato-kun? Just a sec!"

"Oh come on Satsuki. You're just waking up? It's almost eleven o'clock. If you don't hurry we're gonna be late." She flew across her apartment to her wardrobe and began tearing her clothes off and redressing herself with the speed only a kunoichi hopelessly in love could. She stood in front of the mirror and quickly brushed her hair straight, working out of it the messy standing patches she always woke up with. She pulled on her usual gray coat as she reached to open the door, cheeks blushing heavily as her heartbeat soared and her thoughts raced.

'It's finally happening! I always knew it would if I just kept at it and solidified my friendship with him first. I wonder how he will ask me? Will he be all shy and nervous about it? He's so cute when he is shy.' As she swung the door open a wide smile spread across her face and her eyes sparkled with hope. "Good morning Minato-kun. You said you wanted to ask me something?" Her question was met by Minato with a dry, confused expression.

"Uhhhh... I didn't... I said I was here to pick you up." Satsuki giggled and tilted her head as adorably as she could muster.

"Oh silly me. Of course, right. So what are you 'picking me up' for?" she asked, placing hopeful emphasis on the phrase 'picking me up.' Minato's eyes shut tight, his head tilted down and he pinched the bridge of his nose. With a heavy sigh his head rose back up from the gesture of frustrated impatience to look at Satsuki with a dry expression.

"You forgot didn't you... " With a confused look on her face she asked,

"Forgot what?"

"It starts in like fifteen minutes. Do you even remember what day of it is?"

"...Tuuueeesssdaaayyy?" She said slowly, her brain trying to figure out what Minato was getting at.

"It's the twenty-sixth..."

"Okay..."

"Of August..."

"Riiiight..."

"Seriously! It's Kushina's birthday!" Satsuki's curiosity evaporated and she visibly deflated with disappointment.

"Oh... how could I have forgotten." she said in a monotone, devoid of any genuine care in the subject. Minato, clearly annoyed, pursued the topic.

"Seriously, she only invites you every year. Wait... let me guess... you threw the invitation out didn't you..." The memory of herself picking out a bright orange card cut into the shape of a star and painstakingly decorated by hand in small tassels, hand curled ribbons, and lots of glitter flashed through her mind. Then the memory of herself setting it on fire and throwing it out her window also passed through her mind.

"Suuuuuure let's go with that." She turned to go back into her apartment and swung the door to close it behind herself when Minato stuck his foot through the doorway to prevent the door from closing.

"Ohhhhh no. Not this year. She has invited you to her birthday every year since out early academy days. I saw the card she made you Satsuki. You know how many other people got fancy hand made invitations with glitter and ribbons?" With a shrug she said,

"All of them I assume?"

"Well... yes... but yours was the fanciest and had the most decorations!" Satsuki rolled her eyes with a heavy sigh.

"Why does that attention whore want me at her party anyways Minato-kun? We don't get along at all." Minato was nearly shouting as he responded,

"Because you two have all the same friends and she wants you to be her friend too! And now you're even teammates for Christ sake!" He took a deep breath to try and calm himself down.

"Well that's nice. If you're just going to her party then I think I'm going back to my 'I have the day off' nap." She faked a yawn and tried to close the door, but Minato refused to move his foot, and he reached into the doorway to grab hold of her arm.

"Oh no. This year you're coming to the party. Even if I have to drag you there myself." With a blush on her face from the skin contact with her crush, Satsuki gave a halfhearted attempt to break free of his grip.

"Minato-kuuuuuun." she whined. "Let go of me please. You wouldn't drag a girl you like as much as me to a party she didn't want to go to would you?"

_Five minutes later in the streets of Konoha..._

"Unhand me! Minato-kun this isn't cute anymore! You can't treat a girl this way!"

"I can treat a stubborn teammate who is trying to hurt our other teammate's feelings on purpose this way, yes." Minato responded coolly, as he dragged Satsuki by one of her ankles down the dirt street towards Kushina's house. Satsuki weakly flailed against her crushes hold, not truly attempting to make things difficult for him because she didn't want to hurt him in any way, but trying to make the process enough of a public spectacle to get him to stop. While she was inwardly loving that his attention was so focused on her, she was outwardly expressing her dread towards attending the birthday party of the girl she considered her greatest rival. As she was dragged face-down down the street her fingernails trailed lines in the dirt beside a thick trail left by her body.

"Your grinding dirt into my coat! You expect me to go to a party looking like a hobo?"

"You didn't have to go looking like a hobo, but you forced my hand because one way or another you're going to this party." Minato turned through a gate in a wooden fence and nonchalantly walked down the path across the home's lawn, noisy unwilling attendee in tow. Reaching the low wooden front porch he leaned down and hoisted Satsuki to her feet with his arms under her elbows. He set her standing and draped one arm over her shoulders to prevent her from escaping. She blushed heavily from the intimate gesture despite understanding the platonic intentions behind it, while he brushed some of the dirt from her coat. From within the house the sounds of a great number of people talking, laughing and generally having a wonderful time could be heard. He looked her up and down then with a disapproving nod grabbed her collar and began removing the coat.

"M-M-Minato-kun! W-w-what..."

"Relax." he said, cutting her off mid sentence. "You were right you can't go to a party covered in dirt." He dropped her now removed coat on the porch in a heap and drew his arm once again over her shoulders to continue to prevent her escape. Now with her red and gray blouse with ruffled collar and short ruffled sleeves exposed she blushed even harder as Minato proceeded to knock on the door. The door was slid open by Kiba wearing a blue tee-shirt over khakis, with a bright orange paper party horn in his mouth and confetti covering every inch of him. With a puff he inflated the party horn, causing it to make a small trumpet noise before he inhaled to roll the party horn back up. He removed it from his mouth and looked down at Minato while laughing lightheartedly.

"Minato! You're late little man, Kuhsina's been wondering where you got too! Come on in the party is in full swing! Drinks in the kitchen and snacks just about everywhere. She'll be really excited that you're..." He paused and looked Satsuki up and down with an extremely suspicious and critical eye. "Who is this... do I know her?" Minato laughed and gesture towards her with his free hand.

"This is Satsuki, you've met her a few times over the years Mr. Inuzuka. She is in me and Kushina's group of friends remember? She's the one who gets the extra fancy invitations..." Kiba looked over the two kids and saw the trail left along the road from Satsuki's involuntary attendance. His jaw dropped and he excitedly turned to call out into the house.

"Hey Kushina! That girl showed up this year! The one you were talking about! Minato brought her!"

"WHAT?" came the loud and clearly awestricken response.

In a heartbeat Kushina had made her way to the door, wearing an orange and black tee-shirt with a large Uzumaki swirl across the chest instead of her usual keikogi, and she too was covered in confetti. Her hair was in an elaborate up-do with a few Hyūga crest hair pins here and there to hold it up. Satsuki begrudgingly thought to herself that Kushina looked really pretty. Kushina shrieked with joy at seeing Satsuki and stole her from Minato's entrapping hold with a mighty hug. Satsuki choked for breath and instinctively beat her fist into Kushinas shoulder to signal for air. "Oops! Sorry Satsuki! I'm just so happy you're hear! You know after the last five invitations were ignored I didn't know what to think. But you came! Oh you're going to have the best time I promise! Everyone's already here, including a bunch of jonin I know. Even the Hokage showed up! Come on I'll introduce you to all the older people that you don't know." She grabbed Satsuki by her hand and began to drag the reluctant guest into the house, when suddenly she stopped and stared off at nowhere for a second, as if just having remembered something then immediately forgetting it again. Then realization struck her and she let go of Satsuki's hand as she spun around back towards the doorway. She flung her arms around Minato's shoulders and gently but assertively kissed him on the cheek. His face turned so red it nearly appeared purple and he felt as if steam was shooting from his ears. Satsuki's expression exploded into wide-eyed, slack-jawed horror at seeing her rival plant a kiss on her crush's cheek. Kushina released him and said, "Thanks for bringing her Minato, it meant a lot to me." She then turned around, grabbed the still frozen in horror Satsuki by her hand and dragged her into the party as if nothing had happened. Minato remained standing at the door, eyes like a man who had seen a vision from God and face brighter than his hair. Kiba chuckled to himself and gave the young boy an encouraging wink before pulling his frozen body into the house while shaking his head in a knowing fashion.

Inside the party, Kushina was going around introducing Satsuki to and distributing warm hugs to all of the people she considered her close friends. Which was every single person at the party. Despite the odd mixture of both young and old guests they all were having a great time, brought together by their common love of the guest of honor. Kushina was speaking with a group of jonin who had been friends with her father, speaking particularly with an older woman with long blonde hair that she kept in a long and high ponytail tied with a long black ribbon, and a large and long section of hair left to drape over the right side of her face concealing one of her green eyes. She wore a long purple trench coat the she kept buttoned up revealing absolutely nothing of her figure and making herself appear very asexual. She wore her black fabric Shinobi headband around her right bicep, and had on black gloves.

"How is your team working out Kushina? You getting along well?" asked the woman.

"Absolutely Ino! In fact this is one of my teammates right here." she pointed to Satsuki who waved nervously as while she nervously scowled a drop of sweat rolled down the side of her face.

"Oh how nice, she came to your party. That is a lifelong friend right there. I'm still extremely close with my old genin teammates."

"Absolutely, having a positive relationship with your teammates is paramount." said the jonin next to Ino, a massive, slightly chubby man, with long spiky brunette hair and a thin well trimmed mustache. He was wearing a bright red traditional Akimichi battle uniform with gray Akimichi battle plates.

"I know Chouji." Kushina responded with a laugh.

"I heard that you were also teamed up with Minato."

"Yeah he is our third member." Ino's eyebrow raised suggestively and she grinned wickedly at Kushina.

"Did my eyes deceive me or did I see you plant a big smooch on him at the door?" Satsuki's face became livid with anger, though Kushina seemed to choose to ignore this as she laughed.

"Yeah you did see that but seriously we're just friends. I was playing around I don't feel that way about him." Ino's face then shattered into overly dramatic grief and she wept openly. She grabbed Kushina by her shoulders and through sobs said,

"You can't hide from your feelings Kushina! You live in denial for a year and before you know it the love of your life is stolen away from you by some Hyuuga tart! Then, when you finally have your chance to confess to them, fate plays a cruel hand and you loose them forever! Don't make my mistakes Kushina!" Kushina nervously laughed and removed Ino's hands from her shoulders and backed away.

"Of course Ino, you're absolutely right. Uhhh oh! Is that Hokage Ojī-san Waving me over? Sorry I have to go talk to him. It was great seeing you Ino." Kushina grabbed Satsuki and steered her away from the sobbing woman who was now crying into the shoulder of Chouji who with an embarrassed expression patted her back.

"What was that about?" asked Satsuki.

"It's complicated." said Kushina as a drop of sweat rolled down her cheek.

"Not really." Said a confetti covered Inoko from a chair nearby as he sipped punch from a cup, having laid witness to the entire spectacle.

"Hi Inoko."

"Hi Satsuki, glad you made it this year." Satsuki gruffly mumbled an inaudible response with her arms folded over her chest. "It's actually a simple explanation, you see my Aunt is a woman who gets very... attached to things. Apparently she had fallen in love with the Rokudaime when they were young but never came out and admitted it to herself until after he had fallen in love with and married Kushina's mom. His death hit her really hard."

"Exactly how hard?" asked the now curious Satsuki.

"Well apparently she hasn't so much as looked at another man since he died. On top of that she apparently used to wear very suggestive clothes but since his death keeps her figure completely concealed to drive off men." Satsuki's jaw dropped.

"So she really was in love with him?" She blushed as she imagined Minato taking such celibate measures in the event of her own death. 'So romantic!' she though to herself.

"I don't know if that's what you would call it, but" he looked around and leaned in to whisper to the two. "rumor in the clan is that she keeps a shrine of him in her house. Pictures everywhere, incense and everything." Satsuki's face melted into disgusted horror as the romantic fantasy of devotion she had woven in her mind was forever tainted by the creepiness of that information.

"Yeeeeeaaaaaaah..." said Kushina nervously, clearly uncomfortable with the manner in which the subject of the conversation involved her dad. She looked away, then her face lit up. "Oh! Now Hokage Ojī-san really is waving us over! Come on Satsuki!" She dragged Satsuki towards the Hokage as Satsuki nervously tried to adjust her hair to be presentable before him. Kushina let go off Satsuki's arm to leap up and wrap the Hokage in a hug. He laughed and swung her around as he reciprocated the hug. Satsuki looked at the nearest window and contemplated making her escape, but decided against ditching her teammate while under the watchful eye of the Hokage. He set Kushina down and smiled warmly at them through his white face mask.

"Hey there girls how are you enjoying the party?"

"It's amazing!" said Kushina with stars in her eyes.

"Ummm it's lots of fun." nervously lied Satsuki, getting a chuckle out of the Hokage.

"I understand Satsuki, I'm not much of a party person either. But for close friends I make an exception." He was about to speak again when an Anbu in a white robe with red geisha print on their mask appeared next to him. The anbu whispered something to the Hokage and he nodded with a smile. The anbu then abruptly turned to Kushina and reached into his robe. Satsuki dropped to the ground and screamed while shaking in terror, but Kushina's face lit up in a massive Uzumaki grin. She watched as the anbu pulled from his cloak a large, thin, square object covered in a very simple gift wrap. He handed it to Kushina then pulled from within his robe a large unfolded piece of white paper, which had written on it in beautiful artistic kanji 'Happy Birthday Little Kushina.' With a smile that could light up the night she leapt at the anbu and wrapped them in a tight hug. The agent did not return the hug, but neither did they attempt to break away from her hug. She released the anbu and said to it,

"Thank you 'birthday anbu'! But you know I'm not that little anymore." she laughed, but the anbu simply remained silent and bowed to her before vanishing without a trace. From the floor Satsuki looked up to see the anbu gone and Kushina still alive.

"What the hell was that? Anbu are supposed to be the angels of death right? I thought they were going to kill us!" Kushina laughed and held out a hand to help Satsuki up, which she begrudgingly accepted.

"That was just my friend the 'birthday anbu.' Every year he shows up on my birthday and gives me portrait as a present."

"What the fu-"

"Ahem!" interrupted the Hokage. Satsuki turned bright red at having almost dropped the f-bomb in front of her personal hero. "I just thought you might want to know Kushina, that the last guest is walking down the street as we speak." Kushina froze, and slowly turned towards the Hokage, stars in her eyes.

"Really?" she asked.

"Really" he replied with a chuckle. And with that she was gone, having left Satsuki alone for the first time since she arrived. She flew like a hawk on the wind across the house, passing Shikamaru and Chouji as they comforted the still sobbing Ino, her uncle Kiba as he laughed with Minato's father about some old adventure, her uncle Shino as he sat on the couch with Minato's mom and Shikamari's mom as they all held a calm intelligent conversation, and all of her other assorted party guests, all apparently forgotten in the light of this new arrival. She passed Minato, Chouma and Inoko while they laughed over some impossibly funny joke Shikamari had shared with them without breaking her composure at all. As she passed, Minato turned and followed her with his eyes as she darted out the front door. Satsuki came wandering up to Minato and questioned Kushina's actions by nodding her head towards the door. Minato just laughed and lead her out to the front porch to watch.

She came out to the street and turned to her left. Down the street she could see three figures approaching, two were in raggedy black robes that masked all of their features, one of those two with a massive object on it's back that was completely covered in white wrappings. The third wore a long flowing sleeveless blue coat with an open front and wide collar, a dark onyx shirt beneath, and matching onyx pants. His sleeves only came up to his elbows, below which his arms were covered in white wrappings. Coming up diagonally across his torso was a tan leather harness, and diagonally opposite to that came up a white sheet, a section of which fell down along his front between his legs. The two most prominent features of this man however were the massive tan gourd attacked across his back to the harness, and the blue wide rimmed hat that he wore concealing his face with white trim and detailing with the kanji for wind on the front. Without any hesitation she dashed down the street hurtling towards the figure with the gourd. As she approached the two figures in black dropped into bizarre battle stances, their arms coming out of their robes to reveal strange coloration and joints. As she drew closer weapons folded out of the strange limbs, dripping with purple poison. As they were about to strike Kushina seemed completely unafraid and Satsuki gasped in horror believing she was about to see Kushina run straight into her own funeral. However the figure with the hat raised a hand and the other two stood down immediately, allowing her too pass them by and jump head first at the person. The person held out their arms and the two met in a warm embrace while out of the wrappings on one of the guard's backs a man emerged wearing a great deal of purple war paint and wearing concealing black garbs. He loudly whined,

"Come on Gaara! It's bad for your image to let people just run up to you on the street." The figure with the hat and Kushina both laughed at this as his hat fell back to rest on top of the gourd. The man had short red spiky hair, a clean shaven jawline and on his left temple was a red tattoo with the kanji for love.

"It's so good to see you uncle Gaara! It seems like it's been forever!" The man laughed and responded in a quiet, gentle, gravel-like voice,

"It's good to see you too Kushina. You've gotten taller since I last saw you."

"I know I grew like two inches right after I got back from our last trip to Suna." she looked around as if searching for somebody. "Where's Naruka?"

"She and her mother needed to stay in Suna. Since she became an official shinobi last year she must now remain within the village whenever she isn't on a mission or with the order. Genin life is very busy I'm certain you understand that now." Kushina laughed. "Congratulations by the way on graduating top of your class."

"I sure do understand Uncle Gaara, and thank you so much!"

From the porch Satsuki stared in godstriken awe.

"D-d-d...D-did she j-j-just t-tackle the K-K-Kazekage?" Minato laughed.

"She sure did. Almost gets her killed every single time too, or at least the other two times I met him it did. He is a really nice guy, Kushina's father's pick as Godfather."

"What?"

"Kiba and Shino were chosen as Godparents by Kushina's Mom, but her Dad chose this guy as his own pick for Godfather, so technically she has three godparents but only lives with two of them since the other is leader of Sunagakure." Satsuki then fell over backwards, unconscious from pure shock. Minato sighed heavily then set about resuscitating her.

As Kushina and the two new guests approached the porch together they saw Minato with glowing green hands trying to bring back a knocked out Satsuki. Minato turned and as he healed Satsuki gave a deep bow to the Kazekage. Gaara returned the bow with an almost imperceptible nod and a smile, asking,

"How are you Minato? I see your medical ninjutsu has improved a great deal."

"Thanks Gaara-sama, I've been working hard at it."

"Really?" sarcastically asked Kankuro, who knew the boy too well to believe that he worked hard.

"Well... I've been working on it." A chuckle escaped Gaara's lips and he said,

"Fair enough. Continue your training efforts and you may become as strong as your father. He rather famously nearly defeated me in our youth." Minato's eyebrows shot up is surprise then he bowed deeply before returning to healing Satsuki.

As they entered the house, a cheer erupted across the room and Shikamari and her parents were the first to approach the Kazekage.

"Hey Uncle Gaara, Uncle Kankuro." said Shikamari as she gave them each a brief hug.

"Hey kiddo, how are ya?" asked Kankuro of his neice.

"Pretty good. Genin now, a lot of work." Her collective family laughed and her mother reached out to pull both of the Suna shinobi into a massive hug.

"It's so good to see you both! So how are my little brothers holding up without me around?" Kankuro laughed and Gaara chuckled as they recounted information about the village affairs to the retired Suna shinobi. Shikamaru gave a firm handshake to each of his brother in laws and chatted with them over family matters and Alliance concerns.

Soon the Hokage approached and walked directly up to the Kazekage.

"Good to see you Gaara-sempai." the Hokage said with a nod worthy of one's equal in rank. "The village welcomed your arrival with open arms I assume?"

"As they always do Kakashi-kōhai." said the Kazekage as he returned the nod of recognition. "This new generation of genin you have seem top notch. We must go over any changes you've made to your academy curriculum and how effective they have proven." The Hokage chuckled before responding,

"Business later Gaara-sempai, it's a party let's enjoy ourselves." The Kazekage gave his usual small smile and said,

"I would enjoy that a great deal Kakashi-kōhai."

Kushina came over from a conversation with her uncle Shino and a few jonin and she dragged a chuckling Kazekage over to the group to involve him in the apparently amusing conversation. From around all of the people Kushina turned and was able to see all of her friends enjoying themselves. Chouma and her cousin Chouji were finally given permission from Kiba to dig into the cake. Shikamari was smiling and chatting with her uncle about his puppets and her cousins in Suna. Inoko was talking to a group of jonin about his first c-rank mission that their team had recently completed and the jonin were laughing uproariously as he reenacted the incompetence of their enemies. Minato had asked his father about what the Kazekage had told him and his father was now reenacting the entire battle with his wife reluctantly playing the role of Gaara. And Satsuki with stars in her eyes was asking the Hokage about jutsu she had heard he had mimicked and commenting about how useful a sharingan must be in combat. Kushina sighed in relief and joy, knowing that in this moment all of the people she cared about were happy. She looked over at a framed photo hanging from the wall of her parents walking through the park, her mother still early into her pregnancy being carried around on her father's shoulders. The two were staring at one another the same way they did in all of the photo's she had of the two. As if they were the only two people in the world. She looked up and knew in her heart that they were happy, together, and still looking out for her. Through an open window a warm breeze suddenly swept through the room to gently caress Kushina's face. She looked outside to remember that the wind had been completely still all day. She smiled and hugged her Uncle Gaara tightly, basking in an environment of pure love.

_**Dear Readers,**_

**Hello, back with a new chapter and everything. The semester is starting up and my new roommate is certainly... more... enthusiastic about anime than I am. Then again I write a Naruto fanfiction so who am I to judge. Anyways this chapter was the result of my desire to show my readers a glimps of the fate I see in store for their favorite shinobi from the last generation. In case you were wondering, Chouji has not taken up a second genin squad like Shikamaru did, Ino is head of interrogation corps so she doesn't need a genin squad, and yes Tamari is retired. So in essence, this chapter comes down to being fan service, pure and simple. Gaara is still being completely amazing, and in case any of you didn't notice, yes he named his daughter after the man who had the single greatest positive impact on his life, and the man who was his closest friend, Naruto Uzumaki. Kushina may seem a little childish in this chapter, but bear in mind she is a young Uzumaki surrounded by an environment filled with people who love her, enough said. Hinting, hinting, hinting. Can you sort all of the hint's out? Yes? Are you absolutely sure you did? Really? Well who am I to tell you that you missed one. I'm just the author. In any case please submit reviews with your thoughts and or feelings about the chapter. And to all of the Legend of Zelda fans out there take a gander at my new Post Majora's Mask One-shot. I'm pretty proud of it. So go forth! Study hard! And party harder!**

_**Love, **_

_**Danthemanwithaplan7**_


	10. Chapter 9: Reconnaissance Mission?

**Yes I know that it has been ****a ****very**** long time since I updated. But I only have two words for those of you who are disgruntled. Higher Education. So yeah slower updates will be much more common during the fall and spring semesters. Sorry but that comes first.**

I hope that all who read this find enjoyment in doing so.

Dedicated to my best friend.

I do not own Na to the Ru to the To. You figure that one out I'm tired and I gotta write a chapter.

Chapter 9: Reconnaissance Mission?

As she ran faster than she knew she was capable the wet night grass left her shins soaking wet, to match her cheeks. The tears welled up from her eyes independent of the the terror that pierced her heart. She wanted to stop crying, to not be in such terrible pain and so afraid, but she couldn't. Her frantic breathing filled the night air as she flew across the forest, the darkness obscuring her vision and warping the appearance of the trees. Her already blurred, tear soaked vision united with the darkness to hide from her view a thick root knot directly in her path. The knot caught her left boot and brought her tumbling down face first in the dirt. She willed her arms to move, to pick her up so she could continue running, but they would not comply. Her body wracked as she sobbed uncontrollably, soaking the dirt in her fresh tears.

'The village... the temple... everyone... Mommy... Mommy why you too...' this and this alone ran through her mind, obscuring the immediate danger of her situation. She lay on the ground in that manner until the cries of men began to echo through the forest, drawing nearer and nearer. She looked up, terror written on her face, and she did the only thing she could think of. She ran to the nearest tree and in a flurry of arms and legs clambered up the trunk as high up into the canopy as she could. When the branches became to thin for her to climb any higher she looked down to see that leaves completely blocked her hiding place from view of the ground. The voices of the men soon could be heard from the base of the tree.

"God damn it! Where did that brat of yours go?" said one of the frustrated men to another.

"I don't know where that bitch Miki went. Just as disobedient as her mother!" He kicked the trunk of the tree in a rage. "I swear when we find her I will personally make sure she is thoroughly broken in before shown to the buyers. If the bosses hear one escaped we will probably all be killed!"

"While that may be true, if we don't tell them we will DEFINITELY all be killed because a certain dumb ass here lost sight of his own God damn daughter!"

"Ruah! We've never had a witness before! This jeopardizes everything!"

"Shut up! We were there we know! She's long gone let's just head back with the others and the merchandise. We can report to the bosses and they will know what to do."

As their footsteps faded off into the woods towards the horizon from which smoke billowed Miki lay in the canopy of the tree, and cried till no more tears would flow from her eyes any longer. She sobbed as she passed out, exhausted and traumatized from her ordeal. And as she drifted to sleep a memory crossed her panicking mind.

_"Mommy, what are shi-no-bi?" Miki asked her mom as the two passed a group of young women wearing headbands with leaf symbols on them who were talking to the village leaders and gesturing to a hawk that was perched on one of their forearms. Her mother laughed and said to her daughter,_

_ "Well, shinobi are warriors who fight to protect people like you and me from bandits and other evils." Miki blinked at her mother, bewildered._

_ "And how exactly do they do that? Swords?" Again her mother laughed before answering._

_ "Well here in the land of fire we are protected by the shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato, all of whom have amazing powers that they use to fight evil people. They can cross mountain ranges over night, disappear before your eyes in broad daylight, and some say they can walk on water too. So remember honey, if you are ever in danger, find a shinobi with one of those headbands on and they will protect you." The young girl looked down and asked,_

_ "Like... if dad... comes back and hits you again?" Her mother's expression darkened and with no hesitation she said,_

_ "Yes Miki. Like if your father comes back."_

As she fell asleep in the tree she mumbled through her sobs and tears, "Shinobi..."

_The next afternoon at training ground four in Konohagakure No Sato..._

"Hyaa!"

"Hup!"

"Kyaa!"

Kushina braced herself, grounded well in her defensive stance, and raised her left arm up to deflect an aerial kick from Minato. His swift attack hit her arm with great force but she did not budge so he twisted at the waist while pushing off of the point of impact to spin his body and rotate his angle. He used this new momentum and altered angle to attempt another kick to her head, which she deflected using her right hand. He kicked off of her arm and landed nimbly a few feet away from her. Her activated Byakugan carefully watched his entire body and she focused her penetrating vision on the minute muscular contractions in his body so as to predict his attacks and the strength needed to deflect them. Minato had long since learned that the traditional shinobi technique of watching the enemies eyes to predict attacks did not work on his friend because her eyes did not need to move in order to look at anything. Instead he relied on his previous experience with the taijutsu katas she had modified for herself from the Hyuuga style. He knew most of her moves because her style was still highly underdeveloped and still had very few variations in application. This advantage however was also a weakness because the fact that her technique was still evolving meant that she was always inventing new movements and attacks. This was exactly what she was doing in that instant as he carefully watched her fall into a stance he had never seen her use before.

She lowered her stance, straightening out one leg and bending the other at the knee to tilt her entire body sideways towards Minato. She kept her head straight forward, not needing to turn to look at him because of her three-hundred and sixty degree visual range, and put both of her arms at her sides one pointing directly at Minato and the other pointed directly away from him. She bent both of her arms at ninety degree angles from the horizontal formed by her shoulders, the one pointed towards Minato going down and the other going up. In her minds eye she imagined an enormous circle with an internal one pass swirl pattern on the ground around her. The swirl started at the foot under her bent leg and ended at Minato's feet. Minato drew four kunai from his pouch and readied to throw them at his sparing partner.

"Now!" Kushina yelled. "Uzumaki Style: Spiral Assault!" Minato flung a kunai directly at Kushina, but she sidestepped the projectile keeping her torso in the same position while rotating and taking a step towards Minato along the path of the swirl. Immediately following the commencement of her movement Minato threw a kunai at her new position but she continued to pivot her body in a sort of high speed spinning crab-walk along the path of the spiral now stepping further from him. He threw his two remaining kunai to her side along the path of her apparent movement pattern, but she bent at the hip while she pivoted and the kunai passed just over her back while she continued uninterrupted. She now broke the rigid form her arms had been held in as in the blink of an eye she rapidly pivoted along a curved trajectory directly at Minato. Her arms both readied at her side and she used the momentum of her rotating approach to increase the force of her attack as she punched both at him with open palms. He deflected this double strike by crossing his forearms and swung a kick at her legs upon deflecting the impact, but she continued her rotating movement and began to pivot at high speed in a circle around Minato while assaulting him with a flurry of momentum powered spin kicks and open hand punches. Spinning around in place to follow her as he deflected her punches with his fists and used small leaps to pass over her low kicks. He attempted to attack her with a spinning jump kick while her back was turned away from him by her rotation but her eyes could still see his attack and keeping with her pivot she ducked beneath it. Landing he deflected another punch and went to throw his own, but she saw this too and while his attacks were much faster than she herself was her movement pattern allowed her to narrowly avoid them. Minato himself was becoming frustrated at how difficult it was to follow her movements while she spun around him in such a way, and could slowly feel the high speed spinning bringing about the onset of dizziness. After doing a handspring without breaking her speed of rotation to avoid one of his devastating ax kicks, she used the resulting opening and grabbed a firm hold of him at the shoulder and forearm. She kicked his legs out from under him and pulled his now unbalanced and disoriented body by the arm and adjoining shoulder along with her as she pivoted, then again taking advantage of the momentum afforded by her movement she tried to fling his entire body at a nearby tree. Acting fast, Minato grabbed a hold of her wrist and held tight as she tried to throw him, causing both to go tumbling hard to the ground in a spinning mass of limbs and bruises. The two came to a stop still tangled together, Minato on his back waiting for his vision to stop spinning, and Kushina feeling very sore from the jumbled impact and laying face down half on top of Minato's chest.

Moaning she raised herself up off of him and deactivated her Byakugan as clearly neither felt like continuing this sparring round, not that Minato really could in his dizzied state. She got into a seated position on the ground next to her friend and rubbed her painful and swollen ankle which it had hit the ground rather hard and at a weird angle. Minato felt the spinning in his head start to slow down and also rose to sit.

"Damn Kushina, that was new. How did you not get dizzy from all that spinning?" he asked, now curious about her new move.

"Well the condition of vertigo is caused by two parts of the senses, the eyes and the inner ear. The eyes have difficulty processing the rapid spinning and try to compensate by falling into a reflexive movement darting to the side so-"

"I know the technicals Kushina, I'm a medical-nin, just give me the short version please?"

"Combination of Byakugan and channeling chakra into my cochlea."

"Oh. That's really clever, it is hard to block your attacks, you hit harder," he said while with glowing hands he healed the bruises that covered his forearms. "and it disorients the enemy. But it's also dangerous because if the enemy can misdirect your momentum you come tumbling down."

"Yeah I know that now, I'll work on it. Soon I will start trying to use seals while doing it too." She giggled at the promising prospect and then sighed with relief as Minato reached out a glowing hand and began to heal and reset her broken ankle. "Thanks Minato! Your getting way better with this medical jutsu!" she eagerly said to her best friend with a wide grin.

"No problem at all." replied a smiling Minato. "Good match. Guess I gotta get either faster or stronger if I wanna beat you." They both laughed and Kushina looked off towards the village.

"I wish she had come along, we could use a third training partner." Kushina said.

"Yeah but when I asked she said something about how much she would love too but that she was already close to finishing something." Minato said feeling slightly tired now that the healing was all done. His level of chakra control was still at such a level that he could use the jutsus effectively but inefficiently, wasting more chakra than a more skilled medical-nin would need to use.

"Oh? Is she almost done with a new invention?"

"Wouldn't tell me." He replied while closing his eyes and laying back to relax.

Just then Shikamaru shadow blurred from the direction of the village out of the nearby forest to stand near them in the clearing.

"Hey Shikamaru sensei! You here to fulfill your promise to help us train this week?" excitedly asked the grinning girl who seemed to have near infinite stores of energy. Shikamaru shook his head and walked closer to them.

"Sorry, we will have to do a rain-check on the training. We've been summoned by the Hokage. He needs us for a mission right away." Kushina shot up from the ground and excitedly jumped up and down giddily.

"What kind of mission? An important one? C-rank?" she asked.

"Yup, C-rank as much of a pain as it is, and yes it's important. Where is Satsuki at?" Without opening his eyes or getting up Minato answered him,

"At her apartment working on some gadget." Shikamaru sighed heavily, clearly annoyed at the prospect of a detour. He then turned to Minato nodded his head towards the village as he said,

"Minato, go over and-"

"Nope, not this time sensei. I always fetch whoever is missing because you always seem to find me first."

"Fine," grunted Shikamaru then turning to Kushina. "you go get her. We all need to get to the Hokage's Mansion pronto for out assignment."

"Yes sensei!" She eagerly replied before running and leaping off towards the far side of the village. Shikamaru turned to face the lounging Minato and rolled his eyes at the young shinobi.

"Get up Minato we're reporting to the Hokage's office. Troublesome kid." Minato groaned and hopped up to his feet.

"Okay sensei. Lets go."

_Eight minutes later at the Hokage's office..._

Minato and Shikamaru stood facing the mask wearing Hokage across his desk as he looked over some last minute reports that his assistant Moegi had just handed to him. The door opened and in walked Kushina being berated by an annoyed looking Satsuki.

"No it is NOT okay to enter peoples homes through the window! Even if they are your teammate! And since when were we friends?"

"Ahem." coughed Shikamaru at his students, causing Satsuki to become silent immediately and fall in line next to the other three shinobi assembled. The Hokage laid down the papers and with a heavy sigh turned to address team seventeen.

"Good, you're all here. I have just received some troubling news and I need you to go on a mission to investigate." He sifted through the scattered papers covering his desk until he found the one he was searching for and held it up for them all to see. The paper was a map of the central northern region of the Land of Fire, and had dotted across it markings indicating the locations of known cities, towns, villages, and even rural homes. One of these dots on the map had a red circle drawn around it, and several coded notes surrounding that circle. "This location of interest as marked on this map is a small rural community with a rather unique population known as Brishtem. Brishtem sprang up around a temple that is now the center of the village and the entire population of both the village and the temple are female. The temple was established for female monks, which by itself is very rare. On top of that several decades ago those monks started taking in women from around the Land of Fire who were fleeing from relationships where they were being abused by men. They took in so many of these women that a village sprung up around the temple in which those women started to live. It has since become a haven of healing and refuge for abused women from all over the elemental nations. For added security the village has a direct line of communication to this village in case of incident where they are found by those who have harmed the residents in the past. Unfortunately, we have received a report from a team that passed through the area en route to their own mission that the entire village is empty and that half of it is burned to the ground. They did not have time to investigate, so they sent this report back instead. What is truly peculiar about the situation is that we received no distress message from the village, so it is highly likely that there was simply a fire accidentally started and that they chose to relocate but forgot to inform us. Your mission will be to investigate the village and determine exactly what it is that happened there and where the citizens are." The Hokage put the paper down and looked directly at Kushina and Satsuki. "Due to the delicate nature of the community only the female members of your squad will enter the village or interact with it's inhabitants unless the situation requires otherwise or you are instructed otherwise by the inhabitants. Am I clear?" He asked, then looking at the two males on the squad for confirmation.

"Yes Hokage-sama." replied Shikamaru.

"Good." The Hokage said, his eyes expressing that beneath his mask he was smiling. "This is a C-rank reconnaissance mission, the village is two days from here. You will leave as soon as you are able. Pack prepared for any eventuality. Dismissed." The four bowed and filed out of the room to prepare themselves for the mission.

As soon as they closed the door behind themselves the shadow beneath the Hokage's desk began to rise and stretch until the silhouette of Shikamaru stood in front of the desk facing the Hokage. Moegi dropped all of the papers she was holding in surprise but the Hokage seemed unsurprised, clearly aware of it's presence the entire time.

"What is it Shikamaru?" he asked in a tired tone while off to the side Moegi was frantically trying to put the spilled papers back into the exact same order they had been in previously.

"Sorry Kakashi but I just had to ask without the kids around. There is absolutely no way that this mission is C-rank! How did it get approved as such? I mean a blind reconnaissance mission into a region were active communications have suddenly been cut off? This could be dangerous! This isn't the first incident like this either! Slowly over the past year small villages all over the northern providence have been suddenly disappearing without a trace! I don't want my genin getting hurt." The Hokage sighed heavily and turned his chair so that it's back was to the silhouette.

"I know that Shikamaru, but it was out of my hands. We've been receiving a great deal of pressure from the nobles of the Land of Fire to start sending Kushina on more... serious missions. Even the Feudal Lord has demanded as such, they are all impatiently awaiting to see what she has inherited from her father. The Feudal Lord demanded yesterday that the very next B-rank mission to come in would need to be marked a rank down and given to her and her squad. We tried to reason with him but-" he sighed heavily again. "he would not listen. We had no choice at this time but to comply. After all we are approaching the renewal period for our budget approval and if the Feudal Lord so much as twitched his nose against the village right now it would have widespread effects on everyone who lives here." The Hokage turned back around and with his one open eye gave a stern look at Shikamaru's clone. "Just keep them safe, no matter what. I'm hoping for the best but they might have to undergo a baptism by fire it would seem."

"This is such troublesome bullshit. God damn nobles sticking their fingers where they don't belong. Fine, I get it. I'll bring them all back in one piece. I swear." said the silhouette before it dissolved back into the floor, gone. The Hokage rubbed his temples with his hands in frustration and waved to Moegi that he was done with paperwork for the day. She bowed curtly and shuffled out of the room with her stack of papers. Once alone, the Hokage reached down and opened up the hidden compartment of the Hokage's desk. Where previous Hokage would have pulled from it crystal balls, bottles of sake, or even cups of instant ramen, within it he kept a small pile of little books. He pulled an orange one from near the top of the stack and closed the compartment.

"This will help me take my mind off it." he said to himself as he leaned back and cracked open the book whose cover read Make-Out Courtship! by Naruto Uzumaki.

_Twenty minutes later at the gates of Konoha..._

Minato shambled along the street towards where he saw all of his teammates waiting for him. Shikamaru, Satsuki and himself were wearing their large and heavy travel backpacks, but Kushina was noticeably without luggage, and almost looking smug about it. 'Almost.' He thought to himself. 'If that's what you could call it when it's coming from Kushina. Probably closer to excitement about sharing good news.' His eyebrows furrowed in annoyance and as soon as he got near them he looked at her and asked,

"What? Not bringing your gear? You don't even have your weapon pouch with you." She giggled in response, clearly excited that somebody finally decided to bring it up and rolled her sleeves back to reveal their interiors were covered in paper tags with seals on them.

"Storage seals! I just mastered them a few days ago! Isn't it awesome? Now I can carry everything I need, even more than I could carry before, and I just pull it out of my sleeves whenever I want. Even ninja tools are just a flick of the writst and 'surprise!' I've got a kunai." she giddily replied. She then started trying to explain the mechanics of these seals to Minato, who quickly informed her that he really wasn't all that that curious. Without skipping a beat she turned to Satsuki and tried the same thing only to receive a death glare from the kunoichi which also stopped her explanation.

"Alright guys let's head out, we need to get there as quickly as possible."

"Hai!" all three replied in unison before the team jumped into the tree tops and set out for the village of Brishtem.

_Two days later just outside of the village of Brishtem in the norther providence of the Land of Fire..._

The four Konoha shinobi stood near one another in the treetops looking out over the charred buildings that were left of the village of Brishtem.

"Alright girls you know what to do." Shikamaru said as he hooked his headset into his ear. "Minato and I will stay on the outskirts nearest your location and if you need either of our assistance you signal us over the radio. Investigate the town and search for indications of what happened. Also, provide assistance to any resident you may find."

"Got it sensei." replied Satsuki as she and Kushina put in their own headsets. The two kunoichi jumped down and started walking into the village while Minato and Shikamaru looked on from their hiding place, keeping an eye on their comrades until they could no longer be seen past the remains of the buildings. As the girls got further into town the true breadth of the devastation became apparent, as did the mystery.

"This isn't 'half burned', every single house was on fire. Just not all of them burned to the ground." said Kushina as they walked the streets observing the charred remains of walls and fences. A few buildings still had roofs but they looked like they could collapse at any moment from structural damage.

"Not only that," said Satsuki. "but the thick layer of ash over everything makes finding any tracks seem impossible. See if your eyes can look past the ash to see the dirt path unobstructed, and while your at it look for any signs of residents." Kushina formed a hand seal and the veins around her pale orbs bulged outwards. She stood for a moment as she scanned all around herself the entire small village easily fitting comfortably within the range of her eyes. While Satsuki poked around inside the remains of a nearby home Kushina stood and scanned the town for what must have been close to three minutes. Just when Satsuki was convinced that her teammate's eyes were useless she heard Kushina gasp. She ran to her side and asked,

"What is it? You find something?"

"Not something," she replied. "someONE! There is a little girl hiding in one of the large communal homes on the north side of the village! But the house she is in is highly unstable, she is in danger!" Kushina immediately sprinted off towards the house in question, which had a questionable looking roof over it. Satsuki followed sprinting as well, concerned about the welfare of the little girl inside.

The two soon arrived at the house and Satsuki moved to make her way inside but Kushina ,Byakugan still active, held out a hand to stop her.

"Don't go in. You might set off a collapse. I honestly wonder if she can even get out without it collapsing. There are footprints in the ash leading to her location which means she came back into the building after the fire, it's a miracle the building didn't go down as she made her way back in. This must be handled very, very delicately." she instructed her teammate. Satsuki turned to the building and cupped her hands around her mouth before shouting towards the apartment complex.

"Hello! Can You Hear Us? We Know You're In This House! We Want To Talk To You!" silence was her answer. She turned to Kushina and asked, "How old does she look?"

"She looks even older than us to be honest. But given the trauma of her village burning down I'm not surprised she has temporarily reverted to childlike impulses. She is hiding under what's left of a bed on the second floor, clutching a wooden mallet. She also looks like she has been crying heavily."

"It's Okay! We're Friends! Come Out From Under The Bed So We Can Talk!"

"N-No~o!" Suddenly shouted a very shaky voice from within the devastated building. "I-I don't b-believe you! You can't t-take me t-too! I'm armed! It won't b-be so easy as the others! I c-can fight back!" Satsuki and Kushina blinked in surprise, both caught completely off guard by the declaration of the teenager in the building.

"We Swear To You, We Mean You No Harm! What Are You Talking About? What Happened To The Others?" Silence again. "You Can Trust Us! We're Shinobi From Konoha Sent Here To Find Out What Happened!" Suddenly they heard a loud gasp from inside.

"Konoha? As in Konohagakure? You-you're really shinobi?" the girl cautiously shouted out to them. Satsuki rolled her eyes and shouted,

"Of Course We Are! Who In Their Right Mind Would Dare Impersonate A Shinobi? That's Suicidal!"

"... o-okay... I'm coming down. J-just give me a minute." said the girl. Satsuki, unable to see what was going on waited apprehensively while Kushina kept a close eye on the building's framework. Suddenly Kushina gasped and yelled,

"NO DON"T TAKE THOSE STAIRS!" but it was too late as the sound of shattering wood and a terrified shriek came out of the building. Soon the entire structure was rumbling and beginning to collapse. Kushina frantically searched for a way to get the girl out but as soon as the building started shaking Satsuki jumped into the building without hesitation. "Satsuki don't! It's not safe! We need to think!" Satsuki ignored Kushina, knowing that there was no time to think and that the girl needed rescuing immediately, no matter the danger. As wood fell down from above with thunderous smashes Satsuki skillfully ran through the collapsing hallways, leaping over holes as they opened up in the floor and dodging debris as it fell.

She found the girl clinging to a plank of wood jutting out of a wall that was formerly a stair in the now completely collapsed staircase as she hung over a fifteen foot drop into a pile of sharp blackened lumber and nails. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, and did not even notice Satsuki arrive. Satsuki quickly channeled chakra into her feet and ran sideways along the rumbling, freestanding wall that the girl hung from in immediate peril. As she stepped onto the wall a massive beam fell down from above and destroyed the floor where she had just been standing. Now the floor of the entire first floor had collapsed leaving no way backwards for Satsuki. She scooped the girl up in her arms and continued running up the wall towards a section of second story floor that was still standing as the wall itself began to collapse behind her. She leapt up onto the shaking second floor, the screaming girl now slung over her shoulders like a bag of rice. She looked around frantically and suddenly heard a voice coming from down the hall.

"Over Here! Follow The Sound Of My Voice! Window Over Here! Jump!" Satsuki did not hesitate an instant and ran as quickly as she could towards where the voice had came from, a small bedroom at the end of the hall with what was left of a window in it. She heard a thunderous crack and looked up to see the entire roof coming down. Only ten feet from the window she quickly hefted the girl off of her shoulders and with all her might flung the entire girl. The girl screamed harder than ever as she sailed through the air, straight out the window and started plummeting towards the earth. Suddenly however she felt herself stop falling and a pair of arms catch her nimbly. She opened her eyes which had been shut tight to see the pale eyes of Kushina staring at the building with terror on her face.

"Satsuki!" She shouted as she watched through the walls while the ceiling was falling down on top of her teammate, not enough time to make it to the window. Satsuki pointed her head up and faster than ever before in her life flew through hand seals. Ending on a tiger seal she puffed out her cheeks and spat sparking orbs at the roof which was merely a foot above her head now. The balls exploded in green red and blue like fireworks, singeing her face and hair but blasting a small hole in the roof. She kicked off of the floor as hard as she could as it collapsed just after she did so, and narrowly squeezed through the hole she had made to fly straight up into the open air. Out of the building but still nearly sixty feet in the air above the pile of rubble below that promised no safe landing she found herself out of options.

"Satsuki! Wire!" she heard Kushina shout, and suddenly the idea clicked in her head. She quickly threw a kunai at the ground at Kushina's feet, and as soon as it struck Kushina put down the now silent girl and reached out her hands. Attached to the hilt of the kunai was a line of ninja wire, and grabbing hold of the sharp wire with both hands Kushina pulled with all her might, cutting her palms open in the process. On the other end of the wire Satsuki also held onto the wire with all her might, as she felt it jerk towards Kushina pulling her entire body to the side, causing her angle of descent to now point directly at Kushina. She was falling off balance and closed her eyes as she was forced to place all her faith into her greatest rival. Kushina caught Satsuki in her arms and released the breath she had been holding since Satsuki ran into the building. Satsuki quickly got herself out of Kushina's arms and proceeded to brush ash and debris from her coat.

She pulled out a kunai and looked at her reflection off of the blade before cursing under her breath. Her eyebrows had been burned off and her bangs were all singed at the edges. Small scratches and burns covered her face as well but she knew Minato could heal those. Her eyebrows and bangs however would take weeks to grow back. Kushina, her Byakugan turned off, looked over and noticed Satsuki's predicament. She giggled lightheartedly, receiving another death glare from the red head. Watching all this was the completely stunned teenager who had just had her life saved by a girl that she then realized was more upset about loosing her eyebrows that about almost having died.

"Oh... my... God. The stories are all true. Shinobi have no fear of death, and can't be killed by anything but another shinobi... she blew a hole in the roof by breathing fire at it..." said the slack jawed girl, speaking for the first time since her rescue. Both Kushina and Satsuki were surprised by the sudden voice and turned quizzical looks at the girl. Kushina then smiled and walked over to the girl, taking her hand in a handshake before introducing herself.

"Hey there, I'm Kushina Uzumaki of the legendary Uzumaki clan. Your brave hero over here is my teammate Satsuki. How about we start with 'what is your name?' hmm?" said Kushina with a warm, comforting Uzumaki grin. The girl looked at her blankly before responding,

"My name is Miki." said the girl as she wiped the blood residue of the handshake off her hand on her skirt.

"What a ice name." said Satsuki with a massive smile stretched across her face that did not look at all genuine. Speaking slowly and articulately she then said "We are not bad guys. We are here to help you, so please lay down on your back and take a few deep breaths while we talk." Miki's eyes narrowed at the patronizing tone that bled through the false sweetness in her rescuer's voice and her cheeks blushed in annoyance at being treated like a child by someone clearly younger than herself.

"Ummmmm." said Kushina a drop of sweat rolling down the side of her face. "She doesn't look like she is in shock anymore Satsuki. Whatever mental state was impairing her judgment to compel her to hide in that deathtrap must have been shocked out of her by the building collapse. We don't need to go through procedure for a traumatized victim. She can answer our questions just fine now, right Miki?" The girl nodded in the affirmative as she defended herself.

"I'm in a lucid state of mind okay! Admittedly I... don't know what I was thinking going back in there... plus it would be the first place they would look for me... but I think I'm fine now!" she said cheeks bright red at having realized how poor of decisions she had made while delirious with grief.

Getting a good look at the girl she stood around three inches taller that Kushina, and about five inches taller that Satsuki. She had mid length brunette hair tied of to the left in a ponytail, and a pale complexion that was currently hidden beneath grime and bruises. She wore a filthy looking blue shirt with long black sleeves and blue ruffles at the cuffs and neckline. Its massive neck space hung off one shoulder and exposed her left nape showing the the black spaghetti strap tank top she wore beneath it. She wore a matching black skirt that fell below her knees and she had a long handled wooden mallet with a head the size of a bucket strapped to her back by a charred rope. Her lips were dry and cracked, indicating that she hadn't come out of the building for even water in a very long time. Her piercing blue eyes sized up her rescuers and their bizarre nonchalance about near death experiences.

"So." started Satsuki, dropping the sweetness act "What happened?"

"What happened? You mean... you mean nobody knows?" asked a clearly shocked Miki.

"We were sent to investigate the sudden disappearance of the entire village population. We had no knowledge of what actually happened here. So what did happen Miki? Who have you been talking about being after you?"

Miki dropped to her knees in horror. Never had she imagined that nobody knew. She saw the message sent via hawk at the begin of the attack but she never considered it hadn't ever reached Konoha. Clenching her teeth tight enough to be audible she felt fresh tears flow from the eyes she had thought cried themselves dry.

"They took everyone..." she said just as she began to sob anew. "They came they tied everyone up and burned our village down when they had them all!" she said through her crying. Kushina and Satsuki's jaws dropped and they looked at the girl with a mixture of horror and pure, tremendous sympathy. Kushina slowly walked over and knelt in front of the crying Miki before pulling her into a hug. Miki didn't fight the hug as she let herself cry on the kunoichi's shoulder. Satsuki, with sad eyes shuddered at the thought of ever being so very much alone as this girl must have been for the last few days.

"Shhhh... It's okay. I swear on my families honor that we will find them. We will find your people and save them." Kushina whispered to the teen as she cried and cried.

_**Dear Readers,**_

**Let me begin by saying, Yes! I know it's been over a month. As I said at the beginning of the chapter I was busy trying to earn my degree. So you might want to get used to waiting longer. The good news however, is ACTION! Lots of it along side new twists and turns in the lives of our intrepid young shinobi. I'm excited about what is going on right now in the story and I hope that you all are too. Now on to the usual business, please feel free to submit reviews with your thoughts, ideas, or criticism. I love reviews, always have. And if anyone else would like to get involved in character creation I still have a need of very special Original Characters for my story. If you want to help send me a private message and I will fill you in on the top secret details. A big round of applause for my deviantart friend Forgotenlink for letting me use her OC Miki as a major player in this plot arc. Forgotenlink is a talented artist and when I saw her drawing for this character I just knew I had to use her. Also a big thumbs down for my colleague HotSpot the 626th. I work hard making him 'cut and paste' art depicting all the Original Characters on his crew and in return he asks his readers to spam me! Admittedly... only one person bothered to do it so... I'm not actually that mad. But it's the principal of the thing good sir! So change that thumbs down to a sideways thumb. I guess. Not sure if it works like that... Oh well. Please keep reading and come back for the next chapter's release. And this week try to learn from the behavior of zombies... No I'm serious. Think about it, they are the most well organized, focused, intersupportive group in existence. Zombies never fight amongst themselves, always work as a team, and almost never abandon the buddy system. Just think about it...**

_**Love,**_

_**Danthemanwithaplan7**_


	11. Chapter 10: The Business of Lives

I hope that all who read this find enjoyment in doing so.

Dedicated to my best friend.

I do not own any of the copyright material of the Naruto series. I am simply a fan of it. Though since I neither cosplay nor obsess over it, I like to think I am in no way shape or form a fanboy. Hmmmm, then again it inspired me to write a fanfiction... hmmmmmm.

Chapter 10: The Business of Lives

_In the deserted ruins of the village known as Bristem..._

Gently rubbing her hand across the shoulder blades of her sobbing charge, Kushina turned to look at her redheaded teammate, who had her eyebrow cocked inquisitively to indicate her intent. Wordlessly understanding her teammate's facial cue she nodded her head in approval and turned back to continue offering words of comfort to Miki. Satsuki walked a short distance away and reached up holding down a button on her wireless short range headset.

"Come in Shikamaru-sensei, Minato-kun. This is Satsuki. Do you read me? Over."

"We read you loud and clear Satsuki." came the voice of her sensei over the grainy speaker in her earpiece. "We do not have visual contact of you and Kushina, although we did witness the collapse of a building. We witnessed a person blast their way out of the ceiling of the collapsing building using some kind of katon jutsu. Was that you? What is your status Satsuki? Over."

"Yes that was me sensei, and were both fine you don't need to worry. We have located a single civilian of the village. They appear to have suffered extreme emotional trauma. They are a young teenage girl named Miki, and they have indicated knowledge of what happened here. Over"

"Really? What have they indicated transpired here? Over."

Satsuki looked over her shoulder at the sobbing teen and bit her lower lip in apprehension.

"She has indicated that the villagers were all abducted then the village set ablaze, to cover the evidence presumably. What do you make of that sensei? Over." There was a pause on the other end of the line that only furthered Satsuki's nervousness about the scenario. She didn't want to believe that something like that had occurred here.

"I was afraid of that. If she is the only citizen then escort her to camp and make her comfortable while Minato and I take a look around the village ourselves. Over."

"Hai sensei. Over and out." Removing her finger from the button on her headset she walked over to Kushina and whispered their orders into her ear. Kushina gently patted Miki on the shoulder to get her attention and began to talk to her in a soothing gentle tone.

"Miki? We have received orders to escort you to a safe location. Can you handle being carried a short distance? OR do you need a minute?" Miki was silent for a moment, allowing her sobbing to slowly subside before she wiped her eyes and nodded to Kushina. Kushina turned around and proffered her back to the teen. Once Miki was comfortably situated on Kushina's back the three all took off towards the forest surrounding the western border of the village.

_An hour later at the camp..._

Miki had long since regained her composure and was staring at the small fire in the center of the small well hidden grove the girls had taken her too. Kushina with a steady had was laying out sealing runes of a slip of paper, periodically stopping to channel some of her chakra into the runes. Satsuki stood in a nearby tree keeping a lookout for the return of their comrades. Soon she heard a bird call coming from the direction of the village.

"They are back." she said as she leapt down to the ground just as their sensei and teammate shadow blurred into the clearing. Miki gasped and jumped to her feet in shock at the sudden appearance, but after a few seconds her look of shock faded to be replaced by one of pure fury.

"Who are you? Stand back there are leaf shinobi here with me!" she cried out at the two, receiving a very puzzled look from Minato his massive eyebrows shifting around on his large forehead very comically, while Shikamaru only sighed in annoyance.

"We ARE leaf shinobi. We're the teammates of the girls who rescued you. Troublesome..."

"That's impossible!" defiantly cried Miki pointing an accusatory finger at the male duo. "Leaf shinobi are all girls! So back up or they will kick your asses!" Minato choked on air in complete disbelief while a drop of sweat rolled down the side of Shikamaru's head. Behind Miki Satsuki fell to the ground holding her stomach as she laughed uncontrollably at the bizarre assumption Miki had made and Kushina herself was holding back giggles trying not to add to the humiliation the victimized teen had brought upon herself.

"Where the hell did you get that idea?" shouted out Satsuki between spurts of unrestrained laughter.

Miki turned in shock at the amused reactions of the kunoichi, confusion painted across her face like bright red profane graffiti.

"B-but all the shinobi that came to the village were always girls! I-I thought..."

"Sorry to shatter your troublesome little unisex world view, but no not all shinobi are women. Gender plays no roll in the world of shinobi, men can kill just as well as women can kid. What, did you think only women could be good people?"

"I-..."

"I'll take that as a yes." Shikamaru said as he rolled his eyes. Then he walked up to her and placed a hand on either of her shoulders looking deep into her eyes. "It's a drag but the world is not black and white like that. Sex is a purely physical difference, people are so much more than just having ovaries or having testicles kid." Her eyes sparkled for a moment as she looked up at his wise confident features and a blush crept across her cheeks. Seemingly ignoring this Shikamaru patted her on the shoulder as he walked towards where all three of his students now stood looking at the heap of feathers Minato had brought back. Miki stood in a daze, continuing to stare in the same direction after Shikamaru no longer occupied it. Then with a shake of her head and a huff of stubborn pride she shouted at his back,

"Well I'm not so easily convinced! I still believe the others about how men are all awful! B-But I'll trust you two because Kushina and Satsuki do, and ONLY because they saved my life!" Shikamaru ignored her statement and joined into the conversation the others were exchanging.

Minato passed what was still recognizable as the charred remains of a hawk, if just barely, to Kushina as he talked.

"We found it's burnt corpse in one of the central buildings. It didn't have a message capsule attached to it so we don't think that it was ever even prepped to deliver a distress signal. Sensei said they must have known there was a emergency messenger hawk in the village and snuck in to kill it before they began the attack."

"So if the other team hadn't happened along the village then we wouldn't have known for weeks. Whoever they are they've clearly done this before, right sensei?" responded Kushina.

"Right, and since our mission directive entails locating and assisting the villagers were going to have to figure out where they all were taken. Troublesome bastards covered their tracks well though, almost looks like they had some semblance of shinobi training on covering their tracks. But this attack would have required hundreds of men to happen quickly enough so that only one escaped and we would know about such a massive number of missing nin so clearly they are not actual shinobi."

"So then what do we do now?" asked Satsuki. "We don't know what direction they went."

"Well, they left to the west." The four shinobi all blinked in surprise before turning to the source of the revelation, a still brooding Miki with her arms crossed.

"Really? Could you identify the exact direction from the village border?" asked Kushina.

"Yeah they all passed underneath the tree I was hiding in... dragging the others with them in lengths of chains." she said looking away from them while talking about the villagers abduction to protect her pride.

"Okay then, point us in the right direction while Minato escorts you back to the village for safety."

"What!" shouted Minato and Miki in unison.

"I have to come! I need to help save them all!" Miki protested.

"Why do _I_ have to take her back?" demanded Minato.

"One, Minato you have to take her because your the fastest and will make it there and back here to follow our trail the fastest; two, of course you can't come this will be dangerous and you can;t defend yourself like we can." Minato dropped his head in resignation, and Miki stomped her feet in a stubborn display of childishness. Shikamaru sighed and nodded his head from Kushina to Miki. Kushina picked up the cue and in a flash moved to Miki and placed three seal tags on her temple. Miki tried to shout in protest but her shouting was halted instantly as she passed into unconsciousness. Minato caught her as she fell and turned to Kushina with an eyebrow raised.

"How can you do that? Seriously?" Kushina stuck her tongue out and pulled a tag out of the storage seals sewed into the inside of her sleeves.

"These tags seal the chakra flow around the brain to trigger unconsciousness. Doesn't work on Shinobi though, because our chakra networks are more resilient due to our training." Minato clicked his tongue in a combination of annoyance and awe.

"Seems cheap. I prefer knocking them out the old fashioned way." He paused and looked at them with a serious face. "I'm worried about not being around to heal you guys..."

"Pfft. How about this, I'll bet you a trip to Ichiraku's that when you get back none of us will have needed your help at all." He smirked and responded,

"Your on." he then nodded to the other two behind Kushina to signal his departure as he slung Miki over one of his shoulders with casual ease. Kushina sealed his travel pack into her storage seals so he wouldn't have to worry about it's safety since he couldn't carry both it and Miki quickly enough back to the village. He then took off towards Konoha while the other tree set about reverse tracking Miki's footprints to locate the tree she had hid in.

_One day later at night, in the hill covered north western wilderness of the Land of Fire..._

"Their trail sure was easy to follow once we got a few clicks away from the village." remarked Satsuki as she, Kushina and Shikamaru leapt from branch to branch following the obvious trail of blood and torn clothes left in the wake of the kidnappers' cruelty to their victims.

"Like I said, not actual shinobi the pain in the ass amateurs." responded her sensei as they swiftly traveled.

"The trail getting fresher isn't it?" rhetorically asked Kushina. "They can't move very fast marching prisoners through wilderness. We might catch them before they reach their stronghold, Minato is gonna be pissed he missed out." she said with optimistic confidence. Suddenly as the three rounded the crest of a hill something came into view that stiffed Kushina's optimistic postulations.

"You had to jinx it didn't you." growled Satsuki as the three looked down upon the valley. In the center of the valley sprawled out a compound with high walls, strange red spotlights, and many guards. Within the fortifications could be seen about six barracks shaped outbuildings surrounding a central building shaped like a decadent mansion, but fortified like an shinobi fortress.

"Shit, look." said Shikamaru, pointing to the large courtyard directly in front of the mansion and between three of the outbuildings. Despite the distance the height allowed them to see about one-hundred people lined up in rows, presumably chained together and being circled by other small specks of people.

Kushina activated her Byakugan with a hand seal and took a closer look at the courtyards unwilling guests.

"Oh my God! They-they are beating them! The kidnappers are beating all of the women from the village, with them lined up on their knees!"

"Those ANIMALS!" shouted Satsuki.

"Quiet! You want our position given away? Calm yourself down Satsuki and keep a level head." scolded Shikamaru, then turning back to Kushina. "What else can you see? Are the buildings protected from your eyes?" Kushina focused for a minute before responding.

"The central castle is line with something blocking my vision, but I can see into the other buildings. They are filled with... spotlessly clean and extravagantly furnished kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms? Yes on their first floors but the basements are just series of large jail blocks. What is this sensei?" Kushina asked in bewilderment and concern. Shikamaru sighed and turned to Satsuki to make a zipping movement across his mouth which she nodded agreement to. Then he turned back and responded,

"It would appear that we have located... a slave trafficking ring." Unable to shout, Satsuki pounded her fist into a nearby tree cracking it's bark in pure fury. "The rooms you see on the first floors are for... training... they savagely beat their captives into obedience and train them in domestic 'services.'"

"Wait, no! Not-"

"Yes, that too. The ideal slave caters to _all_ of their master's _needs_. Even... even that..." said Shikamaru unable to look either of the girls in the eye as he explained. Kushina gasped and covered her mouth with her hands as tears began to well up in her eyes. Satsuki dropped to her knees and pounded the dirt as it was made moist by her own tears of grief.

_The same moment at the village gates of Konohagakure no Sato..._

"Thank you Minato, your report will be passed along to the Hokage and the girl will be well cared for by the hospital psychological staff." said one of the two chunin who had gate duty that day. He took Miki's still sleeping body from Minato and gently held her in a bridal fashion.

"Don't take off the tags until she is in a locked room, she will throw a fit when she wakes up. Oh and you should probably only have women taking care of her." responded Minato, sweating lightly from the nonstop sprint back to the village. He took a water canteen off his belt and drank deep of it's contents. Then with a wave to the chunin he took off back towards Brishtem. Just as he got to the treetops however, he felt a tingle go down his spine and his ears itch. Taking advantage of his privacy he scratched the itch away. 'I have a bad feeling. I need to hurry.' With a fresh look of determination he poured all of his power into running as fast as he could to get back to his teammates' side.

_The following evening at the slavers compound..._

The three shinobi all shadow blurred back together on the hilltop overlooking the compound, serious looks on their faces.

"Report." said Shikamaru to the two.

"It appears that each barracks has separate keys for the prisoners' cells, so we can't just take one key and not worry about the others." said Kushina, slightly tired from using her Byakugan all day to gather intel. "And it would seem that the commanding presence resides in the castle because the others are constantly going in there after their guard rounds."

"Okay. Satsuki?"

"I was unable to locate any point along the wall with weaker defense than the other sections. The tall platform next to the main gate has some kind of metal dome at the top. It looks to be some sort of machine but I couldn't verify without blowing cover."

"Damn. Figured as much. Clearly this place is run by missing nin, it's too well constructed against shinobi assault not to be. Based on the number of subordinates I would guess only around two shinobi are involved here. We probably can-"

"Guess again leafies!" shouted a muffled voice, as if separated from them by a wall of pillows or a pane of glass. The three went wide eyed in shock before scattering just as an impact erupted just where they had stood, flinging dirt everywhere. They all stared at the crater in the center of which stood the voice that had interrupted their discussion.

A man stood there with short black hair with long gray striped running along the sides, contrary to his apparent age. His stubbed nose moved disgustingly with each inhale and his prominent brow gave the appearance of constant concentration. He was garbed in a simple black battle plate under which her wore a gray shirt with white pants. He stood above a hole which he had apparently come out of from below.

"Awwww you had to go and move didn't you." he jeered as the sound of alarms being raised came from the valley below. "We had a feeling somebody was snooping around. Those idiots let one escape so it was inevitable I suppose. By the way there are three of us running this very very _lucrative _business here, and no leaf genin squad is gonna ruin that for us. Now kindly die, we've got a client scheduled to come in today for first pick from the new merchandise." He smirked wickedly at the three as they all fell into battle ready stances. Kushina, byakugan active, shouted out,

"Below! There are a series of tunnels everywhere just below the ground! If you can't see them you'll fall into one and he will have you. It looks like his jutsu involves digging!" The man's smirk vanished, replaced by a look of disgust.

"Smart little tart eh? Fine then, you don't get to die. We'll just see if we can't _pump a few little Hyuugas out of you instead_. Should turn over quite the profit, unsealed Hyuuga infants." Kushina stood slack jawed at his statement for a moment before charging straight at his with a terrible war cry.

"IN YOUR DREAMS SICKO!" Satsuki was about to leap in to help her when Shikamaru grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"You need to be very careful, I can't stay to help in this fight." said Shikamaru in a blank tone, suppressing his own urges to try and help as well. "We need to attack now before they can get organized if we want to save those villagers. Temper that courage Satsuki and take your time against the problem at hand. Listen to Kushina's warnings against pitfalls and don't let him bait you." She stopped struggling against his hold and nodded before leaping to another tree branch and drawing kunai. Shikamaru gave the duo one final look before darting off towards the compound.

"If that guy was a gauge as to the strength of the other two we might still be able to do this. We can't retreat, he said they already have a client on their way and we might not be able to find them again if any are sold. I need to act now and have faith that Kushina and Satsuki can handle themselves well enough. Minato likely will not be here for another day or so, so I'm on my own." he mumbled to himself as he approached the fortress. Soon he was coming up on the large iron gates as they slowly swung shut to keep them out.

"Troublesome." murmured Shikamaru as he flew through several hand seals. "Doton: Forest of Antlers." he said as several pillars of stone shot up from the ground to hold the gates open despite the efforts of the guards. A volley of arrows came from the walls, though they traveled to slow to hit the shinobi who effortlessly dodged them all. Darting into the gates they he plowed directly into the mass of guards that had gathered there to fight them. The clumsy attacks of the slavers were easily enough dodged on their own, but even in such numbers it was proving impossible for them to inflict injury against the veteran shinobi. Kunai drawn he did his best to mow down the ranks without wasting chakra, but more and more seemed to file in from every direction.

_In the clearing..._

Kushina leapt over a section of dirt she saw masked a pitfall as she charged at the missing nin. She threw a punch at the man and he deflected it with his forearm before throwing a low kick at her midsection. She twisted and spun her body horizontally dodging over the attack before landing and using the momentum to attempt a kick of her own to his shins. He jumped over the attack, but saw as a small volley of kunai came flying at his airborne body from the nearby trees. Flying through hand seals he cried out,

"Art of Animal Mimicry: Badger!" His hands grew in size as massive flat claws grew on his finger tips. He sung these new claws to deflect the kunai and then spun to fall headfirst towards the ground. The tunneled right into the ground with his claws and disappeared below.

"Damn!" cursed Satsuki as she leapt to Kushina's side as the Uzumaki followed the shinobi's underground movements with her piercing vision.

"You have any new tricks up your sleeves to help here?" asked Kushina.

"Maybe, though unlike you they aren't actually in my sleeves. I'll need a second to retrieve them from storage scrolls."

"Good, because I have a few new tricks too." Kushina then began to fly through a set of hand seals while Satsuki made for the treetops once more. The badger-like man flew out of the ground to try and intercept her as she jumped for the tree unable to dodge, but Kushina finished her hand seals and shouted,

"Suiton: Sticky Wad Bullets!" She puffed out her cheeks then spat out of her mouth at rapid speeds four head sized balls of orange liquid. Two of the bullets hit dead on and impacted his torso throwing of his trajectory and bring him crashing back to the ground. Satsuki reached the tree and produced two scrolls from her pouch then unrolled them both. In a puff of smoke their contents appeared and she set about attaching them to her wrists. Meanwhile the badger had found that the bullets of orange fluid had an adhesive quality and stuck him to the ground where he landed. Kushina charged forward to attack his vulnerability but he dug his claws into the ground beneath the liquid and quickly shoveled away dirt. Soon he stood with a layer of dirt still attached to his chest but the excess weight at a minimum due to his skill in moving dirt. He readied for her attack, razor sharp claws clicking against one another and assaulted Kushina. Parrying as best she could nonetheless she was quickly covered in fairly deep gashes inflicted by his claws. She suddenly smirked and leapt back puzzling him, then he saw another blade flying at him from the treetop. What appeared to be a medium sized shuriken cut in half along the blade edge while both separated and connected in the center by a cylindrical device with a hole in it's center lengthwise as a regular shuriken is. The man dodged the large weapon easily enough but then caught sight of an identical weapon approaching his from the side in an impossible tightly curved trajectory. He jumped over the horizontally curving weapon and noticed the gleam of ninja wire coming from the weapon and reaching back into the tree. Then the initial blade dislodged itself from the ground and came flying back in his direction spinning all by itself. The blade caught him by his side, tearing into his shoulder and incapacitating his left arm. He watched as the blade returned to the hand of the redhead, spinning in such a manner as to coil the ninja wire back into it's core device as it traveled leaving no slack in the wire at any point. She caught it skillfully and then caught the other as it returned to her in a similar manner.

"What the hell are those things?" he demanded, clutching his shoulder.

"You like them? It's something I've been working on. I think I'm going to name them 'Throw-Gos' what do you think?"

"Ugh awful name." said Kushina casually. "Shorten it, how bout 'Yo-yos'?"

"Eh, that kinda sounds like something you would name a kiddie toy. Anyways, they are attached to special bracers on my wrists by ninja wire and they have devices inside that automatically wind the wire back up returning the blade to my hand."

"You take me so lightly that you chatter on in the middle of a fight?" he shouted at her.  
>"Nah, it's just that your already done."<p>

"What the hell do you-" he was about to ask as he tried to move forward but instead found himself unable to move. He looked down to see seals laid out on the ground around where he stood and that the seal had spread and now covered his body in immobilizing runes.

"Seeya." said Kushina as Satsuki threw one of her yo-yos at the mans uninjured shoulder, cutting his entire arm off. The seal deactivated and the badger's jutsu deactivated as he fell unconscious to the ground.

_Several clicks to the west of Brishtem..._

Minato flew like wind above the trail left for him to follow by his teammates. 'Must hurry! I just know something bad is going to happen! For once in my life I'm actually hoping that I loose a bet.' He pushed his legs as hard as they could go as he rushed towards the west.

_Inside the mansion within the slavers compound..._

"Looks like Shikamaru 'The Genius' Nara is here. Not good. And looks like his team killed that feeble ally of ours." said a man overlooking the courtyard from within the mansion. The woman next to him nodded towards the tower.

"Why not give him a taste of my invention? Or better yet use it on his teammates." The man was silent in though before responding,

"Yes order them to fire it upon the teammates, the genin. He will leap to their defense and they all will die."

_In the compound courtyard..._

Shikamaru was holding his own against the mass of slavers but he was nonetheless relieved when he saw Kushina and Satsuki come flying in through the gate carving up the guards with a deadly combinations of suiton jutsu from Kushina and a pair of bizarre new weapons wielded by Satsuki. He then saw something moving up on the wall and turned towards the movement. He witnessed the silver dome atop the heightened platform begin to turn, partially opening to reveal a strange catapult like weapon mounted on a swiveling axle. It was manned from a seat directly behind it by a guard who appeared to be slightly trigger happy as he immediately began to fire the weapon without waiting to line it up at the enemy. The weapon spat out at speed comparable to a shinobi kunai, but in rapid succession no shinobi was capable of. Attached to each kunai was a paper bomb tag and as the shuriken ballistae slowly turned towards the genin pair it left in the wake of it's scope a series of massive explosions ripping through the crowd of guards like a series of lead bricks through a sheet of stained red glass. His eyes shot open wide in horror and he flew as fast as he could to stand between the girls and the weapon, performing hand seals as he moved.

Too late did the girls notice the weapon and as it started firing they were unable to move due to the ground rocking from the continuous series of explosions drawing nearer and nearer to them. With deathly white skin the looked upon the face of death as they saw four paper bomb kunai coming down on their location only to see Shikamaru step between them and the bombs. The bombs went of in a series of nearly ten explosions in the exact location the three Konoha shinobi had stood at, and no shadow blur could be seen darting to safety out of the cloud of fire and dirt. The cackling man ceased fire to look upon his handy work and saw where they had once stood only a crater filled with the slanted shadows cast by the setting sun. From the compound gate Minato breathlessly mouthed the word,

"No..."

_**Dear Readers**_

**Hello people, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Things are felling exciting, did the girls and Shikamaru make it out? Will Minato survive as well? Just how powerful are these shadowy slavers? Who knows? I certainly don't... Nah just kidding I do. Aaanyways, very little news today. Will likely post another chapter very soon seeing as I am about to start fall break. Lots of fun things happening, the more adult serious themes are to continue from this point forward. If you liked the chapter please leave a review with your thoughts, suggestions, or criticism. As always, enjoy life people. RIP Steve Jobs, we will miss you good sir. **

_**Love,**_

_**Danthemanwithaplan7**_


	12. Chapter 11: Minato's Surrender

I hope that all who read this find enjoyment in doing so.

Dedicated to my best friend.

I do not own Naruto. Where normally I would place something clever I will this time place a comment in memorial, as I feel the tiny nod at the end of my last chapter felt extremely insufficient given that which has transpired. Rest in Peace Steve Jobs, the impact you have made on all of our lives will never be forgotten and never go under appreciated. We all loved you, you were a shining light of brilliance, creativity, and freedom that lead the way forward. Your life was an example of what can be accomplished when we expect the best from ourselves and refuse to let others restrain our freedom of thought and belief. I know in my heart that you have found peace in God's loving eternal embrace, and as such I choose not mourn your death but instead to celebrate your life.

Now that the sombre business of that is over with, though it felt very mood appropriate given the tone of this chapter, on to the story!

**Warning!** This chapter contains gratuitous violence and gore on a scale not yet seen in this fanfic. I warned you.

Chapter 11: Minato's Surrender

Minato stared in disbelief. His mind attempted to formulate words, coherent thoughts, or even an emotional response. But for a moment all of these functions escaped him. His knees were wracked with quaking beneath him, and quickly his ability to stand failed, resulting in him falling into a kneeling position. His eyes refused to remain on a single object, darting around the surroundings directly in front of him randomly. They passed over the smoking crater once again, then passed over the surrounding buildings. Moving over the shocked and terrified faces of the surviving slavers who had only just realized how disposable they were in the eyes of their employers, then over the height of the mansion in front of him as if searching for some kind of answer. The corpses of slavers caught in the series of explosive attacks launched from the strange kunai throwing machine were littered about the path of it's destructive sights.

The force of the many paper-bombs that had been attached to the fired kunai had ripped their bodies apart, many had been torn limb from limb blood and muscle tissue scattered about like red confetti in the wake of a parade. A decapitated head had been flung to land only a few meters from Minato and it's mangled face had had the flesh burned off in most places, nose destroyed and its empty, wide-eyed stare spat of horrific pain and fear. Some had survived the initial explosions only to die immediately afterward in excruciating pain due to the massive trauma and rupturing the explosions' pressure waves had caused to their organs. One man had been torn in half at the waist by an explosion, and though he had initially survived, his attempts to hold his intestines into his body with only his hands had proved futile and he died of blood loss in a matter of a few terror filled seconds. All this transpired before Minato's eyes and all the noise of the scene came through to his consciousness as if from underwater, muffled and quiet.

Then a single sound shattered that buffer of sound, reverberating clear as a bell in his ears. The sound of two heavy doors being slammed open. His eyes ceased their roving and rolled slowly to stare at the entrance of the mansion where the noise had come from. His consciousness now seemed to float outside of his body, just behind his kneeling self watching and hearing the event before him like he was barred from his own body by the pure horror of the situation. He saw standing in the doorway two people, one standing on the left at about six feet in height and the other on the right standing about three inches shorter than the other. He realized that the shorter was a woman, with heavily mascara covered eyes oil stains on her cheeks and hands and big red pouty lips that fitted poorly the icy deadness in her eyes. Her medium length light purple hair reached down to her shoulders and her clothing was also covered in stains. The man with short green hair carried himself like one removed above those around him, he wore a brown shinobi combat vest with long shoulder plates and a high collar. Across his back rested twin broadswords and his limbs were covered in combat armor. His face was defined by it's pronounce bone structure, the deep cheeks, narrow chin and sharp jawline all casting shadows over his face in peculiar ways, and his eyes were even more empty of sympathy than his counterpart's. The slavers all turned to face them shaking in fear as they simultaneously bowed to them both. The man looked over them blankly before his gaze rose to the machine mounted above the gate in such a way that Minato was hidden from its pilot's line of sight. Without looking at his ally he addressed her commenting in a voice that carried great distances around the area despite its mild tone and quietness.

"Your machine works very well, as you promised nothing could stand up to the brutal force of so many paper-bombs at such a high speed. Its so effective any of these mindless goons could use it to devastating effect against superior enemies." she smirked slightly as she arrogantly crossed her arms.

"Thanks, it took a while to figure out how to make it accurate and fast loading but all the kinks have been worked out. It even killed that jonin, granted he might have beaten it if you hadn't ordered it to fire upon the genin first." Minato's mind suddenly regained the ability to form words although control of this function escaped him as his mind simply rolled over the same words again and again. 'you, ordered, fire, genin, you, ordered, fire, genin, you, ordered, fire, genin.' His eyes focused in on the man standing there looking up at the machine. 'you, you ,you, HIM.' The man turned and seemed to finally notice Minato's presence.

"I thought I had told you to kill all that survived?" he asked of the ballistae operator in a deep threatening tone. The man jumped in his skin and frantically searched about for any other enemies as did many of the slavers standing in the courtyard below.

"I-I apologize my lord, b-but I do not see any other Konoha shinobi." one bravely said.

"He is standing there in the gateway, with a childishly traumatic look on his face almost as if he had never seen a comrade die before. All of you, put him out of his misery now." As he issued his command to the slavers he turned and walked back into the building, followed closely by the woman as the door slammed shut behind the pair. The slavers all turned upon the frozen genin as he simply stared at the slammed doors.

'HIM, HIM, HIM' he thought repeatedly as he stared at the door ignoring the men encroaching upon him sadistically. He began to feel a pressure building up behind his eyes. What sounded like a roaring fire rumbled in his ears causing him to buckle in pain. Slowly however the noise began to become clearer and he noticed a rhythm to it growing more defined until suddenly it transformed into a voice. _**'COME HITHER CHILD!' **_it called to him and suddenly the world around him disappeared.

Minato looked around himself and found he was in a long cylindrical tunnel crafted of metal plated riveted together firmly. Pipes covered the wall going to and from locations unknown, many hissing steam from fault joints as apparently they all carried super heated air. He knelt upon a metal catwalk suspended in the middle of the tunnel, a beige light filled the space with no clear source. _**'HERE KIT!' **_ the voice boomed across the space, rattling the pipes and loosing even more steam. Minato felt drawn to stand and follow the voice to it's source and soon he found a fork in the tunnel the path on the right leading into a darkened chamber. _**'Yes... in here.' **_is spoke from the darkness and Minato slowly entered the dark space. Engulfed in the darkness he felt a sudden flash of heat about himself and before him a massive pair of blood red eyes appeared in the darkness, glaring intently at him. _**'It is good that you have finally come here youngling. Come to me...' **_ The eyes narrowed and stared intently at a tear as it rolled down Minato's cheek. _**'I have sensed your pain, and anguish child...' **_

"Y-you have? W-what-"

_**'This is not the time, hehehe, "child." Tell me... what is it that caused this pain...' **_it growled in a rumbling tone.

"T-they are dead. The girls... they..." The great eyes opened wide at this.

_**'AHH! So they have killed them!'**_

"Y-yes..."

_**' Murdered them!'**_

"Yes."he replied tears streaming down his face.

'_**Taken them away from you!'**_

"Yes! Yes alright! Yes!" Crying out in anguish and pain.

_**'What does that do to you child!'**_

"It's crushed me! I'm so sad! They were both- I mean to me they were- around them I felt- I... And- And..." he quieted momentarily and paused as if afraid of something he was about to say.

_**'Yes.. and WHAT kit?'**_

"And I'm mad! I-I hate them! I HATE THEM!" He roared through his tears.

_**'THAT"S RIGHT! You HATE them! It is only right! They took something away from you! Something irreplaceable right!'**_

"YES! I HATE THEM!"

_**'WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO TO THEM!'**_

"I... I WANT TO KILL THEM ALL!" He bellowed with all his might, his tears now drying.

_**'YEEEESSS! KILL! KILL THEM ALL! And would you do anything to kill them!'**_

"YES!"

_**'Good..' **_Suddenly a small corner of the dark chamber was lit up by a burning red glow. It revealed a console board covered in eight massive levers, each with a different symbol next to them. The first six were marked by the numbers one through six, and the final two were labeled separately by the letters 'T' and 'L.' Minato stared at the levers, confused and still in a blinding rage.

_**'Approach the switchboard small one... I will help you do it...'**_ Minato walked slowly to the levers and when he reached them stood staring at them all.

_**'Goooood... now... pull the lever with a "T" next to it, then pull one of the number switches.'**_ Without a though Minato complied, furiously slamming down the 'T' switch and then the '3' switch.

_**'Now! Pull the 'L' lever and another number lever!'**_ Again Minato slammed down the switch he was commanded to, followed by the '6' switch.

_**'YEEEEESSSSSSS! NOW YOU SHALL KILL THEM ALL! WE SHALL KILL THEM ALL! I SHALL KILL THEM ALL!' **_roared the demonic voice as the entire room was consumed with the burning red glow. This revealed before Minato that the eyes lay behind a series of horizontal and vertical bars than interlaced across a massive gap in the side of the metal room, caging the being into a separate room adjacent. With a grinding metallic clang the bars began to move and rotate, sliding apart enough to widen the gaps in the cell's door considerably. **_'FINALLY! TIME TO PLAY!'_** roared the being as a wave of blackness erupted from the gaps in the cell door, completely flooding the chamber and engulfing Minato entirely into the rushing black wave.

Back in the material world less than a second had passed. The guards were still on the approach when suddenly the bent over form of the genin began to shake violently. His seizing caused the soldiers to pause and stare as his body emitted a series of sickening sounds, like bones snapping. They watched as the hands held on either side of his head shook and the nails grew long and sharp. His head shot up and he roared as his canines grew longer and his eyes turned bright red and slitted like a predator. His shaking was so violent that his hands knocked the earmuffs off of his head, revealing to the view of the guards that there was only smooth skin beneath their lobes, not an ear in sight. The hair atop his head shook wildly and out of it rose two foxen ears covered in pink fur, that had cleverly hidden in his hair for years. A loud bubbling noise could be heard as they saw a strange orange colored liquid begin to seep from his chest and stomach to cover his body. The cloak of bubbling jelly filled the compound with a bizarre sensation, a spiritual heaviness that weighed upon your very soul, filling it with terror. The cloak formed around every inch of him, forming massive claws around his hands and feet and even more massive fox ears around his own. Then suddenly from his rear end three massive tails of the red substance shot out and waved around menacingly.

All were completely still for a moment as the weight of the transformation set in upon the slavers. The only movement was from Minato's tails as he remained prone, on all fours as if ready to pounce.

"**GROOOAAAAHHHH!" **Minato roared, shaking the air itself with his voice alone and knocking many guards clear from their feet. Suddenly one guard raised his sword overhead and charged at the demonic child. For an instant they all watched in shock at him closing in on the boy, then in the blink of an eye they were watching something travel much faster in the opposite direction. The guard's bloody jaw, separated clean off by a single punch from the genin. The now jawless slaver attempted to roar in pain, but without his jaw all that came out was a horrific bloody squeal as his tongue flapped about in the open. Then Minato grabbed the man by the shoulders and the ankles and with a flick of his arms folded the man ankle to neck, ass to lower back backwards, snapping his spine and killing him.

Minato roared and flung the dead body like a projectile at the mass of guards, throwing it with such force that upon impact with the crowd both the body and the bodies of the impacted crowd were reduced to a massive red stain of particulate bone and muscular matter across the courtyard. He flew forward disappearing from sight, only to appear with his arm through the back of a man, holding his still beating heart in his fist coming out of the man's chest. He ripped the heart out sideways tearing the man in half to do so and hurled the heart at a man's face, breaking in his skull and causing his head to explode in a shower of pink brains and pale bones. He then used his new chakra claws to tear a living man's stomach open as he screamed in pain, then pulled out his very long small intestinal tract and wrapped it around his head like a noose chocking him to death with it. He yanked on the organ and whipped the man's dead body around his head like a lasso before releasing it into a wall to become another red stain. This all happened so fast that none of the men had yet been able to fully turn around, and now as they all surely reached that point they all let loose terrified screams and began to run. Minato pursued them each as if his vendetta lay with each solitary one of them. He tore the arms off of a man and used the jagged stubs to stab another man through the stomach and neck then leaving his with an arm protruding from his abdomen as he bled to death. He would bite down with his massive canines upon mens' necks tearing out massive chunks of flesh before inserting his entire arm into the created cavity to fish the man's windpipe out and shove it into his eye socket. The horrific cries of those men were unlike anything that had been heard in many many years, and there to lay witness to it all stood his teammates.

_A few moments prior just as Minato had begun his transformation..._

Distracted by the demonic spectacle the slavers were ignoring the crater where they had thought team seventeen had died. The long shadows cast by the setting sun in the crater wriggled and out of them emerged two sputtering and gasping genin and a burned unconscious jonin. Shikamaru had saved them by using a jutsu to pull them into his shadow, but by pulling the girls in first he was exposed to the full force of the first explosion, though he had managed to hold onto his consciousness long enough to keep them safe, when he passed out from his injuries the three emerged from the shadow. Seeing only the mass of guards distracted by something that their masses blocked from their view they both grabbed their sensei and leapt for the cover of the doorway of a nearby bunker. They stood in the shadow of that doorway and looked on in horror and confusion at the spectacle unfolding. Satsuki was crying uncontrollably and Kushina could hardly breath from the brutality displayed in the courtyard by her best friend. Several bodies impacted the side of the bunker and in one instance the girls were close enough to be splattered in the red goo of the dead.

In the courtyard Minato was just finishing killing the last of what must have been nearly one-hundred and fifty slavers when the turret man regained his senses and opened fire upon the three-tailed monstrosity. He shouted death as the kunai began to impact against Minato, kicking up a massive cloud of fire perpetuated by the near endless shots. Eventually after thirty-five explosive hits the man ran out of ammo and could only pull the trigger as the machine clicked on empty. Suddenly out of the fire cloud a long orange arm of chakra shot out across the space and grabbed a hold of the man. It's very touch was slowly burning through the man making it's way to the bone as it pulled him closer and closer to the silhouette now hunched over in the center of the fire. Minato looked up at him as he was pulled into the fire and the man witnessed the grotesque sight of Minato's flesh rapidly growing back from where it had been blown of by the explosions.

"**BWAHHHHH!" ** roared Minato as he squeezed his chakra fist and the man's body crumpled, and then exploded under the pressure.

After a very rapid look around with is fox ears moving rapidly to the side and forward again like sonar devices he turned to the mansion and let loose another roar.

"**YOU DIE FUCKER!" **He rocketed forward, straight through the lead lined walls of the fortress and into it's depths, leaving two traumatized kunoichi and a slowly waking jonin in the wake of his genocidal rage. Inside the building Minato flew upwards straight through the floorboards propelled by his power and roaring the whole way. He blasted into a massive chamber to find the two missing-nin already in battle ready stances, though both were quaking uncontrollably in fear under the might of his oppressive, demonic killing intent. **"THERE YOU ARE! DIE!" **he bellowed as he shot forward at the man. The shinobi dodged to the side, barely escaping death from Minato's blind charge. Minato turned and was about to throw his claw at the man when suddenly he felt a weight impact his back. A thick grainy flow of concrete was shooting out of the kunoichi's mouth at Minato, slowly surrounding him in it's mass. Soon Minato was completely lost inside a dome of wet concrete nearly twenty feet in diameter. The man flew through hand seals and a ring of fire appeared around the dome, rapidly drying and hardening it. Soon the concrete ball was dry and the two exhaled a breath of relief.

"What the hell was he?"

"Does it matter? This concrete is reinforced with my chakra nothing can escape it once it's dry. He is dead."

"He destroyed everything... We will have to start over from scratch. What an embarrassment, and with our prized client only minutes from arrival."

"They will help with the rebuilding I'm sure."

"Yeah I-" CRACK. The pair froze and slowly the man's head turned to look at the prison they had built. A massive crack had spread across the top of the dome. They blinked in disbelief as for a moment everything was completely silent. CRACK. The building rumbled as the crack spread and the dome shook uncontrollably.

"Impossible! He would have to have the might of a demon to-"

With a thunderous boom the dome exploded and Minato still wrapped in the three-tailed cloak immediately had a firm grasp of the woman's throat in one of his hands. The chakra burned rapidly through her neck as she shrieked in horror, crying out to her ally to save her. He stared for only a moment before flying through hand seals and shouting out,

"Suiton: Wave of Destruction Piranhas!" He spat from his mouth dozens of hyper dense bullets of water which flew at high speed towards Minato. He simply held the woman in front of him and scowled at her face as the jutsu tore her body to pieces, brutally rending her flesh with it's power. Soon her body had been reduced to loosly connected sinuous tatters and the bullets were impacting Minato square in the chest. But rather than cry out in pain he roared at the man attacking him as his chest was torn open and bloodied. The man's jutsu soon ran out and he could only stare in horror as his strongest attack proved useless. Minato's chest rapid healed and closed up in a process that looked to be impossibly painful. Minato roared and appeared beneath the man then punched him through the ceiling. The man flew through every floor of the building till he was flying, free floating trough the air above.

'Any minute now, "he" will be here for his purchases and he will save me. The have too. After all the people I've provided for their experiments. I-' then his eyes latched on to a group of men standing on tree branches in the forest below. They all wore headbands with music notes engraved upon them and the man seemingly at the lead grinned at the flying man through his wickedly pointed teeth and proffered up a thumbs up.

"HOSJA YOU BASTARD! YOU ABANDON ME?" the slaver shouted as he hurtled through the air, too distracted to notice the massive arm of chakra swiftly making its way up to him.

The arm impacted his body and grabbed a tight hold of him before it retracted pulling his down back towards the building. As it did so it began to spiral, swinging him in a circle as he descended and he quickly realized why. By swinging him around he dragged the man face first through all the floors of the building in a spiral motion, possibly being the most painful moment of his life. Then he saw himself coming straight at Minato who had his other fist cocked and ready. Minato punched the man in the gut as he pulled him in, tearing the man clean in half with the force of the punch. The man lay dead on the ground as Minato roared again, simply howling at the sky as the sun finally dipped below the horizon and the moon began to rise.

Then abruptly the howling quieted. Minato's body shook and convulsed as the chakra bubbled wildly, as if fighting something. Across Minato's chest his seal appeared and glowed bright white as the sound of an alarm going off rang in his head. He heard within himself, the being with red eyes shouting.

"_**NOT YET DAMN IT! HE WAS SO EASY TO CONTROL! NOT YET! DAMN YOU NARUTO!"**_

The voice rapidly quieted and the orange chakra swiftly began to dissipate, as the seal glowed brighter still. Soon the cloak was completely gone, his nails and teeth returned to normal though his fox ears still sitting atop his head out in the open, his earmuffs still somewhere amidst all the carnage below. He struggled as the world turned black around the edges and he tried to fight off unconsciousness. But this was a loosing battle and soon Minato collapsed face first on the floor, covered in the blood and surrounded by the bio matter of his enemies, deep in unconsciousness.

_**Dear Readers,**_

**Short chapter but very very very action packed. This was originally going to be included in the last chapter but the length would then have been purely ridiculous so I cut the two apart. Minato has now experienced the power latent within himself. And not only that but his closest friend lay witness to his manic acts of sadism and genocide. Will they ever look at each other the same way again? Is their friendship strong enough to survive the archduke of demons, the nine-tailed demon fox? Read the next chapter to find out how everyone takes the news. Again reviews of any kind, positive, negative or other are greatly appreciated. Also I am glad to say that soon the special Original Characters I needed will all be done, with a massive thanks to Hot Spot the 626****th**** and my new fan on deviant art ****kuroyukidragon95. If you still want to get in on the fun hurry and contact me before it's too late. Good morning everyone, and have a nice day. **

_**Love,**_

_**Danthemanwithaplan7**_


	13. Chapter 12: Monster

I hope that all who read this find enjoyment in doing so.

Dedicated to my best friend.

Attention readers, this is a special news bulletin. I do not own Naruto. That is all, thank you for your time.

**Get out and vote! My beloved readers please make your way over to my profile and participate in my shipping poll. I want to know where you all think that my story is going.**

Chapter 12: Monster

Minato attempted thought but all he knew was as a great big fog, obscuring everything and without any form or function. He experienced the strange phenomenon of being aware of his own lack of awareness, confusing him as he reached for a lucid state of mind. Slowly the fog cleared and he grasped the sensation of touch, feeling cool air upon his face and soft warmth surrounding his body. The next facility cleared from the fog was scent. The sweet chalky smell of a wood fire filled his nostrils. The smell reminded him of home, his father stoking the fire in the cold evening as he lay his head in his mother's lap. She smiled down at him as she gently ran her fingers through his hair, in that way only mothers knew how that made your senses buzz with contentment. She massaged the ears atop his head with her thumbs occasionally, prompting heavy sighs of enjoyment from him which she giggled at. His father joined them on the couch and wrapped his arm over his mother's shoulders as he too looked down at Minato, pride and joy in his eyes.

Then there was a knock at the door, and Minato rolled out of his comfortable position to get the door.

'Don't forget your earmuffs dear.' his mother reminded him, prompting him to run back to the coffee table beside the couch and retrieve his disguising earmuffs as his true ears flattened out against the shaved patches on his head designed to hold and hide them. He ran to the door and opened it and what he saw caused a massive grin to cross his face. There outside his door stood all of his friends grinning. Inoko was giving a peace sign as always, Chouma was digging into a bag of cookies, Shikamari was twirling the end of her ponytail in her finger absentmindedly, Satsuki was blushing and fiddling with her index fingers at the front of the group and the one who had knocked on his door stop with her usual grin plastered across her face. Kushina was...

'KUSHINA!' he thought suddenly, 'Kushina! Satsuki! Sensei!' images and events flooded his conscious mind. He shot up from where he lay, a cold sweat running down his forehead. His eyes darted around in a panic as he searched for them desperately. He saw Shikamaru staring intently at him from across a campfire. They were in the woods in a simple camp setting, although only the two of them were there. Minato sighed with relief, his sensei's presence contradicting the images and emotions he had been assailed by. 'A dream... thank God.' he thought to himself as he closed his eyes and wiped the sweat from his face. Then he noticed something he hadn't before. His earmuffs were missing. His hands darted to the sides of his head and his eyes shot open in shock, only to see Shikamaru holding the earmuffs in his hands on the other side of the fire. His jaw dropped and he began to sputter,

"S-sensei! I-I can e-explain! Y-you see I-" Shikamaru held up a hand to stop him and tossed the earmuffs to him.

"Minato I already knew, what do you take me for? Troublesome..." Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head and sighed heavily with his eyes closed. Minato chuckled nervously and lowered his hands, allowing his ears to rise up on the top of his head to a comfortable position. He always was amazed how much better he could hear when his ears weren't lowered in hiding.

"Yeah I should have figured you already knew sensei, just please don't tell the girls okay?" Shikamaru's eyes shot open wide and he stared at Minato with an expression he had never seen before. It struck Minato as some odd mixture of disbelief and pity, and it made him extremely uncomfortable. He shifted nervously and tried to look away, but the unwavering expression kept drawing his gaze back. Eventually he snapped and shouted,

"What is it! Seriously stop looking at me like that sensei!" Shikamaru's eyes narrowed in seriousness and he spoke in a flat monotone.

"Tell me Minato... what did you do before you woke up here?" Minato blinked in surprise. Then he laughed.

"What do you mean sensei? I was asleep hahaha." Shikamaru's gaze did not waver.

"No Minato... before that."

"Before... that?" Minato asked, suddenly his head began to hurt and he rubbed his temples absentmindedly as he tried to remember. 'I... I had that weird nightmare where I was a monster... but before that... ummmmmm...' He groaned aloud and began to look around. "Uhhh sensei where are the girl's at? On patrol or something?"

"Forget about them right now Minato, concentrate. What. Was. Before. That." Minato felt the headache intensify and he doubled over in pain. In doing so he noticed that his clothes were in tatters, his tank top torn to ribbons and stained deep crimson in a splatter pattern. He looked down at his gloves and noticed they too were coated in a strange crusty stain. He then noticed the stink the substance let off, a rancid metallic odor.

"S-sensei? What is all over me sensei? It stinks..."

"Minato! You need to remember what was before that! Where did those stains come from? You already know. You need to remember!" Minato cried out in pain as he struggled to see past the bizarre nightmare in his memory.

"I... can't... remember from just before the nightmare... ugh..." Shikamaru leaned forward abruptly.

"The nightmare Minato. Tell me about it. Focus on it Minato."

"What? Why? It's just a nightmare I... I get them... all the... time..." he said loosing his focus as his memories of the nightmare drew him in. The images were so vivid, the sensations so realistic. He could practically have been there himself this time...

Minato shot to his feet and began to shake uncontrollably, hot tears streaming down his blood caked face. His fingers wormed their way into the matted locks of his blood soaked hair and his ears twitched wildly.

"NO!" he shouted out at the top of his lungs, though Shikamaru was seemingly unfazed by the outburst. "NO NO NO! You're here! In it you all died! No it wasn't real! It was just another of the nightmares! I'm not the monster! I'M NOT! NO! NO! I'M NOT!"

"You mistook us for dead..." replied Shikamaru calmly as he rose to his feet.

"NO! I don't kill people like the monster from the nightmares! I heal people! I HEAL! I DON'T KILL! THAT'S THE MONSTER! NO!"

"Minato... Nobody is saying that you are a monster. YOU are not a monster Minato." Shikamaru said as he made his way towards Minato around the fire. Minato backed away, the blood on his face running in pink trails where it was smeared by his tears as he screamed in response.

"NO! NO, NO, NO, NO! THAT WASN'T ME! IT WASN'T REAL!"

"Minato you need to face reality... now we're all here for you, to help you through this."

"HOW COULD I HAVE DONE THAT HUH? THERE IS NO WAY! TELL ME HOW I COULD HAVE DONE THAT!" Shikamaru bit his lower lip.

"You need to ask your parents that question Minato, I'm not the person to ask."

"TELL ME! TELL ME NOW! I MEAN WHAT IT DID WAS SIMPLY DEMONIC! AND IT'S NOT LIKE I'M THE FUCKING JINCHURIKI! RIGHT?" Shikamaru froze for a second then continued walking closer as Minato backed away, his arms outstretched towards him.

'He already figured it out, he just won't let himself admit it.' "Minato... you know the answer to that... don't lie to yourself if you already know." Suddenly Minato began to laugh manically, a terrible gut wrenching sound, as the tears continued to flow down his face blazing trails through the dried blood.

"I mean we all know somebody in the village is a jinchuriki! Sure my birthday is the same day as Kyuubi Day! It doesn't mean anything! HAHAHAHA sure I have FOX ears! It doesn't mean anything! They are a birth defect! A BIRTH DEFECT! STOP STARING AT THEM!"

"I'm not staring at them Minato, I'm looking right at your face. Come here Minato we will help you through this."Shikamaru motioned to Minato to come closer with his outstretched arms. Minato shook horribly as he backed himself against a tree.

"There is nothing to help me through! It's not like I've been a demon my whole life and am just FUCKING FIGURING IT OUT! That's not what's going on! That would be crazy! CRAZY! I'm not a DEMON!"

"Nobody said you were Minato. You're not a demon, you are a Konoha shinobi born with the will of fire in his heart. Come here."

"NO! NO! NO!" he cried out as he sank down into the fetal position and resumed his sobbing. Shikamaru knelt down and wrapped his sobbing student in his arms and held him. Minato did not return the hug, he simply hung limp in Shikamaru's grasp as he sobbed uncontrollably.

_Elsewhere in the nearby woods..._

The sounds of a young man shrieking and crying out resounded through the woods, surrounding the two girls as they sat around their own fire. Kushina occasionally poked the logs with a stick and would not take her pale eyes off of the hot coals at the fire's base. Satsuki was staring in the direction of Minato and Shikamaru's camp, sitting crouched as if ready to dash off at a moments notice of her presence being needed. Neither spoke a word, and they were generally ignoring one another until suddenly Kushina asked in a stage whisper,

"What did he do back there?" It had been hours since they had cleared the courtyard of corpses and released all of the prisoners from the now destroyed slaver compound. The villagers had showered them in thanks and had began the long journey back towards their own village. Minato had remained in his coma the entire time and when they set about preparing camp, Shikamaru had ordered them to set up a camp fifty feet away from his own and to make sure the two camps were not visible from one another. They had complied and now sat listening to their teammatexs traumatic screams from across the forest.

"I don't know, but he clearly wasn't in control of himself. That... 'thing' back there was not Minato, it was something else wearing him like a sick coat or something." replied Satsuki with surety.

"Yeah... but... what if that wasn't entirely true?" Kushina asked in a monotone as she poked the fire with a burning stick. "What if it was still... partly him? What if that thing was a part of who Minato was deep down?"

"No way. Impossible." replied Satsuki, speaking with finality.

"But how can you think that..."

"LISTEN!" replied a now furious Satsuki, turning to glare at the Uzumaki. "Don't you hear him? If that had been our Minato out there then why is he reacting this way?" Kushina was silent for a moment, deep in contemplation. Then a small smile, nearly invisible to the naked eye, turned her lips up.

"Yeah I guess your right. Even if a part of that thing was still Minato that part must have simply been being used by the other presence. I... I think it was the Kyuubi. I think he is the person my dad..." Satsuki turned around to stare at the woods again, looking in her beloveds direction in the only show of support she could give at this time.

"It doesn't matter one way or the other. Kyuubi or no Kyuubi he is Minato Lee and I love him all the same." Her steely gaze was unwavering and her heart courageously burned for the man she loved so dearly.

"How foolish of me, to think of Minato as a monster." Kushina said sagely admitting her mistake.

_The next day at the girls camp..._

Kushina was finishing packing the last of her things into the space storage seals she had in her sleeves when Minato and Shikamaru came walking out of the woods into their camp. Minato had thick dark rings under his eyes from crying all night, but he was no longer covered in blood and was wearing a new tank-top. He was noticeably without his earmuffs, his fox ears sticking out of his hair and occasionally moving like sonar dishes. He had a blank look on his face and did not speak at all. Satsuki leapt down from her perch in a branch above and seemed to clear the distance between herself and Minato in a single bound as she wrapped him up in a hug, which he did not return.

"Oh Minato I was so worried! Don't you worry at all, you are no different in my eyes than before, we just now know that you have an evil little passenger on board stealing a ride is all. To me you are and always will be Minato, nothing more nothing less." her emotional outburst seemed to lighten the weight that could be seen in his eyes but beyond that he made no outward sign of recognizing her statement. Satsuki released him and backed away, unsure of what to do now. Kushina made her way over to him and looked him in the eye. She looked deep into her best friends eyes and then placed a hand on his shoulder before touching her forehead plate to his. Then she released him and finished packing her things, seeing no reaction from him either. As soon as the camp was torn down the four set off in complete silence back towards their home, Konoha.

_A few days later in Konoha, outside the Lee residence..._

He simply stared at the door. He had been standing outside his own house for nearly an hour since he gotten back to the village. Shikamaru had told him he need not attend the debrief and encouraged him to seek out his parents. He knew they were in the house, he could see all the lights on. But he couldn't bring himself to take a single step towards the house. It was raining hard, but he ignored the chilling soak his clothes had gathered. He wore his earmuffs into the village, but had not hidden his ears allowing everyone in the street to stare and whisper amongst themselves. He had been too deep in thought to care. He wondered how his parents could have kept it from him for so long. They had lied to him his entire life, for twelve and a half years. He had been unable to sleep much the entire trip home, he was running on about four hours restless sleep over the past ninety-six hours or so. The rain water rolled down the curves of his ears and dripped onto the paved street underfoot.

Finally, almost involuntarily, he took a step towards the house. As if watching from a distance he seemed to see himself walk up to the front door, and open it slowly. Then he was back in himself, standing soaking wet in the doorway of his home, his face impassive but his ears drooping slightly. He stared at them, standing there just across from him, hand in hand with faces that could have brought a battle hardened Kage to tears. His mother looked as if she too had been sleeplessly crying for the past few days, and his father lacked his usual glow of energy, his mouth twisted into the first actual frown he had ever seen on his father. They had been waiting here for him for the past hour obviously, if not longer. He felt a sudden rush of anger. Not at them, but at his sensei. He realized that he had sent word ahead of them about what happened and his parents had been informed. He felt like he had been robbed, of the confrontation he had craved. He had wanted to barge into the house, march up to his parents and catch them completely off guard with a series of questions. How long? How could you? Why? He had wanted them to break in front of him, to beg his forgiveness, or for them to explode back at him in equal anger. Anything really, anything but this. He wanted that confrontation, a battle, a clear him versus them. That confrontation was not here. They were just as destroyed as he was, and had been given just as much time to think it over as he had. He wanted to throw his sensei off of a cliff.

So he just stared at them, and they looked back at him so much regret in their eyes he could feel it weigh upon his shoulders. After a few minutes he began to walk towards the kitchen, trying to walk past them both not looking at them. He was stopped by his fathers hand upon his shoulder. He didn't resist but still felt resentment for being stopped. Then he was pulled abruptly into a hug by his parents, the two tightly wrapped around him in a warm embrace filled with love. He stood there as tears flowed from his eyes and his parents hugged him for nearly twenty minutes before he spoke. He asked one question.

"Why?" he asked in a whisper. His mother began to brush his head with her hands as she responded.

"We didn't have a choice unfortunately. Naruto, the Rokudaime, took you only hours after you were born. We were never asked to consent."

"Why would he do that?" His mother placed her mouth to the top of his head and spoke into his hair.

"I don't know, he was a good man I know that much. I trusted him implicitly, but what he did to you... I still don't know why it had to be you son."

"I wish I was dead." he said in a monotone voice.

"Don't you ever say that son! Your youth is in no way extinguished by the demon's presence. You are you, filled with youth and possibility. The future is still yours to take, be what you want to be not what your situation defines you as son." his father said with conviction intended to inspire. Instead Minato hollowly nodded his head. He unraveled himself from his parent's hug and trudged up the stairs to his bedroom, in silence.

_One week later, the kitchen of the Lee residence..._

"So, I understand he is not doing well..." the Hokage said as he sat across the kitchen table from Mrs. Lee as she sipped tea. The Hokage had removed his formal robes and wore a simple long sleeve blue shirt with Uzumaki swirls on the shoulders and a blue face mask. He eyed his sole surviving student across the table as she stared at her tea and did not respond. "I can put off the announcement but it is going to have to happen. Naruto wanted everyone to be open about this, no secrets and whispers this time, and I have faith in his judgment on the matter."

"Do you think perhaps he was too close to the situation to think about it clearly? It's going to start a riot! The people think he died BECAUSE of the nine-tails. They will see Minato as the vessel of the thing that killed their great leader..." she responded with worry in her voice. He sighed heavily.

"No... I think he knew what he was doing. The announcement will happen in..." he paused and looked at the calendar on the kitchen wall to see that the beginning of the new month was fast approaching. "In a little over a month."

"... fine." she solemnly responded.

"We will frame it like the return of a hero, try to win the non-shinobi populous over to our way of thinking. He will have no problems from the shinobi, we didn't forget so fast. But the non militant villagers will need to be handled... delicately..." he said a hand to his chin in thought. He turned his cycloptic gaze to his student once more. "You say he hasn't left his room or spoken to anyone in a weeks time?"

"That's right... one week..." The Hokage hummed as he thought, drumming the table absentmindedly with his free hand. Suddenly Mrs. Lee's head shot up and she stared at his drumming fingers.

"That's a tell sensei... you're planning something aren't you." she narrowed her eyes at her old teacher and a drop of sweat rolled down the side of his head.

"Who me? Would I have such an obvious tell Sakura? I am the Hokage after all."

"Hokage or not I know you sensei. What is going on?" she began to stand threateningly over him as he reclined submissively in the chair.

"Calm down Sakura I swear I am not doing anything. Konoha will not interfere with his process of acceptance alright? You have my word." She sat back down and sighed heavily.

"Sorry sensei guess I'm just overly stressed out. I'm going to try and bring him some food, let yourself out please sensei."

"Of course." he said with a polite nod. She swept over to the fridge and began to prepare a simple sandwich she hoped Minato would eat as the Hokage stepped out the window.

_An hour later, the Hokage's office..._

The Hokage reclined in his chair behind his desk reading a small orange book held in one hand. The book's cover showed a young cartoon man with blonde hair proposing using a cartoonishly large diamond ring to a young cartoon woman with purple hair. The title read, Make-out Wedding by Naruto Uzumaki. His assistant was going over some papers with a nearby shadow clone when suddenly the Hokage looked up and addressed his assistant.

"Moegi? Could you step out for a minute? I have some private matters to attend to." His assistant with a heavy blush gave him a look of repulsion and said,

"Hokage-sama stop reading that filth, I don't care if the Rokudaime wrote it it's still disgusting! _Private matters_ my ass. Pervy old man..." she grumbled as she left the room and the shadow clone dismissed itself. The Hokage had a massive drop of sweat rolling down the side of his head and as soon as she was out of the room he snapped the book shut and placed it back into it's hidden compartment in his desk. He swiveled the chair around and sighed heavily.

"So you think it will work out well?" he seemed to ask the thin air. Suddenly a tall, well built figure made itself known in the shadows. It stepped forward but not enough to be clearly visible. It spoke in a clearly masculine voice but also with a bizarre rhythm to his words.

"Na na na that that don't kill him, will only make him stronger! I need you to hurry up yo, cause I cain't wait much longa! The others are all excited, they wanna meet. Come on give us the green light, stop draggin ya feet." The Hokage sighed as another drop of sweat rolled down the side of his head and he stared blankly in embarrassment.

"Fine, do it tonight. Just remember to hightail it out of there or his parents will tear half the continent apart to get him back."

"Yo shut up man I know it, I remember little miss pink from the war. Though I guess now it's Missus pink, still it will be an easy chore." The man then fell back into the shadows from whence he came and was gone. The Hokage sighed heavily and turned to look out the window, looking up at his student's face grinning down at him from the cliff face.

"Well Naruto, I guess I now know how you felt."

_Later that night at the Lee residence..._

Minato lay in his bead, staring at the uneaten sandwich sitting on his bedside table. He rolled over and tried to close his eyes, having found sleeping next to impossible for the past few days he decided to give it one last try. He lay with his eyes closed for nearly an hour, his restless mind still preventing him from sleeping. 'What am I...' he though to himself. He rolled over again, and was about to roll over a third time when suddenly he noticed his feet felt wet. He sat up to look at his covers when suddenly masses of water shot up from under his bed and began to wrap themselves around him. He struggled and kicked, but the water had been planning it's grab for an hour now and had strategically assaulted him to minimize his ability to resist. At the same time a large iron chain wrapped around his wrists and ankles, binding them and lessening his ability to resist further. He saw eight figures appear in his room around him, one with arms outstretched to apparently control the water and another holding the other end of the chain wrapped around him. He shouted out for assistance, but one of the figures raised a hand as if to ask a question of a teacher, and this disarming action silenced him in shock.

"Ummm..." the man started. "yeah nobody is coming... I kinda put your parents into an itsy bitsy temporary coma with some of my poison..." Minato's jaw dropped in shock, and he resumed his struggling. He cried out,

"What the hell is this shit?" The tallest figure stepped forward and rhythmically stated,

"It's initiation, bitch." Then he reared back his fist and slammed it down right in Minato's face and for Minato everything went dark once again.

_**Dear Reader,**_

**Yay woo hoo, another chapter so soon. Thank you, thank you it was all for you the readers. Oh how I love you guys, except for those of you who like to presume to know what is going on in my story then shout out your theories in reviews. You people I feel less love towards, but love nonetheless. Any who, this chapter was short, but emotionally charged with a very Minato centric theme. Minato is handling the news very differently than Naruto did, lets hope he pulls it together soon. Remember to go to my profile and participate in the poll please. Oh and too all of you who gave me special Original Characters they are all going to appear in the next chapter, isn't it exciting? I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please stay tuned for future chapters filled with action and excitement. **

_**Love,**_

_**Danthemanwithaplan7**_


	14. Chapter 13: Rooms Filled With Beasts

I hope that all who read this find enjoyment in doing so.

Dedicated to my best friend.

Don't own Naruto. And I suggest listening to the song "My Name is Skrillex (Skrillex Remix)" by Skrillex while reading this chapter. Skrillex.

Chapter 13: Rooms Filled With Beasts

_Early morning in Konohagakure no Sato outside the Lee residence..._

Kushina carefully stepped along the street as she approached her destination, avoiding stepping in the puddles that the previous day's rainstorm had left everywhere. She wanted to be sure that her package stayed completely dry. She carried her package carefully in her arms, a small box covered in white wrapping paper and tied with red ribbon which formed a decorative bow at the top. 'I hope this will help him out of his funk...' she thought to herself as she turned in through the gate at the street. She kept her eyes to the ground as she walked up the path through the front yard, still trying to avoid slipping on a puddle, and as a result she did not notice the other visitor to the household already standing on the porch. As Kushina began to step up onto the porch her eyes finally rose and she nearly dropped her present out of surprise. Standing there next to the door with a worried expression on her face and a box covered in green wrapping paper and tied with a pink bow tucked under one of her arms was her red-headed teammate.

"Satsuki? What are you doing here?" Kushina asked her teammate. Satsuki continued to stare at the house worriedly as she responded.

"Same thing you are, I'm here to try and cheer Minato-kun up... but the weird thing is that nobody is answering the door..."

"Huh?" asked a surprised Kushina. "But his parents always answer the door really fast, his dad loves visitors."

"I know, they usually run interference for Minato-kun when he is being shy and doesn't want to talk to me, but today there is no response... It's so weird... I'm going in to take a look." She reached out to open the door, but Kushina caught her wrist and shook her head.

"You can't do that, it's their house. We should just try again later or something." Satsuki wrenched her arm free of her rival's grasp.

"Not a chance, this is too peculiar! I'm going in." and with that she slid the door open and boldly walked right in uninvited.

"Satsuki!" cried out Kushina as she nervously made her way in to retrieve the red-head.

Kushina came stumbling into the house to find Satsuki standing still as a statue. She was about to ask why Satsuki was simply standing there when she was also frozen still. Her eyes had followed the direction Satsuki was facing and found what had caused her to become paralyzed. The two girls stared down the hallway into the kitchen, where they could see Mr. and Mrs. Lee both slumped over the table, ice cold cups of coffee in their hands and a long senbon that had a bright red feathery wisp decorating its back ends protruding out of the base of each of the jonin's necks. The genin stood immobilized by shock and terror for a minute during which the only audible sound in the house was the clock on the kitchen wall clicking away the seconds, appearing as loud as a lumbering giant's footsteps in the stillness and near silence that gripped the home. It was Satsuki who eventually broke the spell of incredulity that held them, voicing aloud her first thought.

"Minato..." she said in a hushed voice, nearly a whisper but heard clear as a church bell in the grave stillness. "Minato!" she then shouted aloud, shocking Kushina from her own stupor with her voice shattering the menacing calm. Satsuki took off for the stairs, vaulting up the entire flight of steps in a single leap as she raced for Minato's room.

Kushina rushed over to the Lees and carefully examined them, knowing not to attempt to move them until she was certain doing so would bring them no harm. She held the back of her hand in front of Mrs. Lee's mouth to check her breathing and her body released a tiny sigh of relief when she felt the slow steady flow of air against her skin. She then carefully held Mr. Lee's wrist and placed two fingers against the blood vessels close to the surface of his skin on the inside of his wrist. She felt his pulse vibrate against her fingertips, slow but strong and consistent.

'It's almost like they are just sleeping. Whoever did this wasn't trying to kill them obviously. This must be some kind of coma, but who...' she wondered to herself as she pinched the back of the senbon in Mrs. Lee's neck between to fingers and gently applied force to pull the senbon from her. After an instant of intense suspense in which Kushina felt like her heart would beat right out of her chest and onto the table in front of her, the senbon came clean out of Mrs. Lee's neck leaving no visible sign of damage and leaving no bleeding in it's wake. She carefully repeated the action with Mr. Lee and once the needles were laying on the table she placed a hand on each of Mrs. Lee's shoulders and began to shake her gently.

"Mrs. Lee? Mrs. Lee can you hear me? Please, please oh please wake up Mrs. Lee." she pleaded as she shook Mrs. Lee gently, her pink hair dragging back and forth short circular paths on the table as her head rolled at the top of her neck limply. Luckily, just as Kushina was about to cease her stirrings Mrs. Lee breathed deeply and released a long low moan of disrupted contentment, a sound like somebody makes when being disturbed from a very pleasant nap. She moved out of Kushina's grasp and her eyelids shuddered a few times before slowly blinking open.

Mrs. Lee stared blankly forward for a second, gathering her bearings before speaking in an aggressively annoyed tone,

"Alright, who is dying at the hospital this time? And why does it always have to be the middle of the night for Senju's sake? I swear if this is another false alarm somebody is getting crippled." She continued to mumble incoherently as she placed her hands on the table and slowly lifted herself to an upward seated position. She stared at the table, blinking for a moment, before she realized she was in fact at her kitchen table. Her eyes widened in confusion and she turned to look at who had woken her to be visibly startled to see Kushina. "Kushina? What are you doing here so late at night sweetie?" Kushina looked deep into Mrs. Lee's eyes and slowly responded in a monotone voice,

"Mrs. Lee it's late morning, not the middle of the night." she then reached over and picked up one of the senbon from the table and held it out in front of Mrs. Lee's face. "Me and Satsuki found you and Mr. Lee at your kitchen table, knocked out with these in your necks." Mrs. Lee's eyes widened, completely caught off guard by the statement. She swiped the needle from Kushina's hand in one clean motion and examined it carefully, sniffing it's tip then lightly placing the broad side of the tip in the edge of her tongue for an instant. She smacked her lips and her eyes narrowed in anger.

"This is a venomous toxin! We've been drugged! Whoever did this is dead! Get up Lee!" She turned and reared her fist back before punching her husband hard on the top of his head, rocketing his entire body into and through the nearest wall and into the next room. Kushina stood with her face drained of blood and pale in terror with her eyes wide in shock. Seconds later Mr. Lee's head poked out of the massive hole his body had left in the wall, a bright smile on his face and with a light cheerful voice.

"Yes my eternally youthful love blossom?"

"We've been drugged Lee, somebody knocked us out last night using senbon and a toxin. Get your ass in here." Upon hearing her explanation the look of happiness on his face melted instantly into one of intense focus and scrutiny. He leapt to his wife's side and picked up one of the senbon to examine for himself. Mrs. Lee turned to Kushina, who was still frozen in white faced fear, and with her arms crossed in front of her and a scowl she addressed the young genin. "You said you and Satsuki found us like this, where are she and Minato at now?"

The color returned to her face, Kushina's eyes turned down and to the right, staring at the floor before she responded.

"Satsuki ran upstairs to check Minato's room, but Minato wasn't with us when we found you..." Mr. and Mrs. Lee's ferocious faces dissolved instantaneously into looks of pure unbridled terror, Mrs. Lee's mouth hung slack and her body shook slightly as she stared past Kushina at the wall. Mr. Lee's legs gave out beneath him and he fell to his knees as he too stared off into space.

"No... not again..." whispered Mrs. Lee when suddenly Satsuki burst out of the hallway and into the kitchen.

"Minato's room is empty!" Satsuki cried out through a flood of her own tears, her voice shaking and breaking from her withheld sobbing. "There are signs of a struggle on the bed, and all of his things are missing along with half of the clothes in his closet! They even took his ninja tools and medical supplies! Mrs. Lee what are we going to do?" Mrs. Lee's face re-solidified out of her display of hopeless despair and into one of purified, intense, maternal focus and her voice became deep and solid as the earth underfoot.

"We're going to the Hokage."

_A few minutes later, at the Hokage's office in the Hokage's mansion..._

The Hokage sighed deeply to himself as he sat down in his desk chair, settling in for the long day of paperwork and decisions ahead of him. Moegi could be seen through the open door speaking to a chunin in the hallway. The chunin handed a stack of papers to her and she nodded consent as the two parted ways, she then walked into the office and reached behind herself to close the door.

"You should leave that door open, we should try to encourage as little property damage as possible." spoke the Hokage before his assistant could close the door. She blinked in surprise and leaving the door open turned to him in confusion.

"What sir?" He sighed deeply, this time breathing a sigh of resigned suffering not of comfort.

"Actually you should probably wait somewhere else for a few minutes. Somewhere far away from here." She continued to blink in bewilderment.

"Why would I want to do that sir? What is going on?"

"I'll tell you after it's over, now hurry up before you get caught in the crossfire." He closed his eyes and swiveled in his chair to face the windows, his back turned to the door.

"Ummm... alright then sir... I'll be back in a half an hour..." she cautiously stepped out the door and began to walk down the hall, not taking her eyes filled with questions off of the Hokage until he was blocked from view by a wall. Once Moegi was gone the Hokage opened his eye and stared at a nest of birds in a tree down in a park below. He watched half interestedly as the mother bird pushed her babies one by one out of the nest to either fly or fall to their deaths. As he watched this he slowly counted backwards out loud.

"Three... Two... One... Annnnnnnnd-" The sound of a titanic impact blasted through the air and immediately accompanying it tremors rocked the building, causing a pen to roll off of his desktop onto the floor. "There they are." He set his feet squarely on the floor as the quaking ceased and just as he pushed off to turn his chair around to face the door a woman charged into the room and slammed her fists down on his desktop surface. This impact left two identical wooden craters, each with a diameter of around thirty centimeters, embedded in it's formerly pristine form and sent all the paperwork covering the desk fluttering through the air in a cloud of white. The Hokage smiled visibly beneath his mask and calmly asked, "Yes Sakura? How can I help you this morning?" Just as the question escaped his lips three more people marched into the office to stand behind the enraged amazonian kunoichi.

"What did you do Kakashi! ? !" Mrs. Lee bellowed at the leader of Konoha, her voice booming with rage and sharpened to a razor edge by her accusatory tone. "Minato has been kidnapped and this has your name written all over it! Tell us where he is or I swear to God above that Hokage or not you will never eat solid food again for the rest of your life!" Behind her the steadily furious gaze of her husband lay trained on the Hokage menacingly as every muscle in his body flexed visibly beneath his attire. Kushina stood with confusion written all across her face, her usual Uzumaki smile nowhere to be found, and Satsuki's eye sockets were puffy and red from crying with worry. The Hokage met Mrs. Lee's terrifying gaze with an even tempered gaze of his own that spat as if he was sizing up the threat she had laid against him in her last statement. Then the Hokage broke their locked gazes and sighed heavily as he placed one of his hands gently on top of one of her fists which was still sitting in the center of a miniature crater in his desk's surface.

"I didn't do anything, I just stood aside so others might be able to act Sakura. And trust me you will be glad I did."

"And why is that!" she growled.

"Because it was Bee." The statement hung in the open air, splashed over the group gathered in the office like water to douse a raging fire. Then the tension and killing intent that had held the room in a choke hold snapped, gone in a single moment and replaced by an overwhelming sense of relief that radiated from the two parents.

"Oh thank God, I thought this was serious. You could have just told us Kakashi sheesh now I feel silly." said Mrs. Lee with a giggle and a blush of embarrassment as she gently petted the desk she had devastated and smiled with self consciousness.

"I'm sorry Sakura I wasn't sure at the time that you two would be okay with letting him go while in such a fragile condition. That, and Bee is so fond of his theatrics."

"Pfft, please sensei, Bee and the others will help more than any of us could." Mr. Lee laughed aloud, his hands falling to rest comfortably on his waist as his stance loosened. Kushina and Satsuki blinked in surprise at the instantaneous shift in mood and looked at each other in confusion.

"How long do those take again? Two months wasn't it?" Mr. Lee asked with a laugh. "I distinctly recall how un-youthfully the old advisers would react to Naruto's prolonged youthful absences from Konoha."

"He is going to be arriving there already a month into this year's sabbatical so he will only be gone for one month. He will be due to return the morning before the announcement is to be made to the public."

"Oh what excellent planning on your part sensei. And hey, this gives us an opportunity to throw him a surprise party! We will have an entire month to plan, how perfect." replied Mrs. Lee genially.

"What are you all talking about?" suddenly interrupted Satsuki, a blush on her face from being so far out of the loop. Kushina was simply standing looking puzzled beyond reconciliation at the pieces of information that the two could glean from the conversation.

"Yeah, where is Minato at and why is he going to be there for a month? And what was that about my dad? I'm very confused..." said Kushina. The Hokage chuckled aloud as Mr. and Mrs. Lee made their way out of the office hand in hand smiling all the way and talking excitedly about plans for a surprise party.

"Well please allow me to explain, and I'm sorry if we confused you two. You see Minato will be gone for a month because-"

_With Minato, in an unknown location..._

Minato found himself once again shrouded in the fog of unconsciousness. Recognizing the familiarity of the lack of sensation and lucidity he reached through the fog attempting to grasp at sensation as a transition into consciousness. He located his sensation of touch and felt himself laying on something soft and comfortable, a painful pounding radiating from his forehead. Using that as a foothold he slowly dredged himself out of the fog and reclaimed his lucidity. He slowly opened his eyes, wincing with the pulsating pain as he pushed himself up into a seated position. He rubbed one of his hands against his forehead, feeling a stinging pain when he touched the goose egg that rested square in the center of his bare brow. He focused chakra into the palm of his hand and began to heal away the sore lump on his head as he looked around himself. He found himself in a room with wooden walls and flooring and a single all white door. The room was tiny, only just large enough for the bed on which he lay to fit in. The walls were completely bare but for the paint, the bottom half painted red and the top half painted green separated from each other by a narrow band of white. Looking down he examined the bed he lay on. It was a spartan piece of furniture, a bare wooden frame and a mattress. No blankets or sheets, not even a pillow. Then he realized he was wearing what he had gone to bed in the night before, a white sleeveless and his underwear.

Finishing healing his forehead and feeling rather exposed he took a quick look underneath the bed by leaning over the edge upside down. There underneath the bed frame was a small pile of his own clothes, one of his tank tops, a pair of pants, his sandals, even his gloves, dog-tags, and headband. The only thing not in the pile were his usual earmuffs and shinobi tools, and realizing this he then also realized that the bare sides of his head felt cold. He quickly dressed, leaving his white sleep shirt on the bed, and took a deep breath. 'Okay... I've been abducted. But I'm still alive... so what does that mean? Ummmmm... okay they could need information, or... well they probably are after the Kyubi after all I'm not some genin I'm the jinchuriki and nobody would go through all this effort to abduct some random genin. Again though, why am I still alive?' He scratched his head in confusion and apprehension. He had the distinct feeling he was being watched, but though he searched the room top to bottom he found no means of monitoring anywhere. 'Okay, they aren't watching me... whoever they are. That probably means I'm being guarded... Well they aren't getting the Kyubi that is for sure.' He approached the door and carefully laid one of his ears against its surface, trying to listen to what was beyond its barrier. He heard nothing coming from the other side, and taking a deep breath and holding it he reached for the doorknob. 'Okay, on three... THREE' He turned the knob and pushed against the door with his shoulder, throwing his weight into it hoping to break the lock. But instead the knob turned fully without resisting and he came tumbling out of the door, landing face first on the floor beyond.

Quickly leaping up and lowering into a defensive position he stood frantically looking around for the guards, but he saw absolutely nobody.

"What?" he wondered aloud, severely confused. He stood in the middle of a corridor, the hallway continuing on to the left and to the right. Directly across the hallway from himself was another door, and what hung on that door caused Minato's jaw to drop in shock. Hanging from the door was a small white sign with words sloppily painted on it in big red letters. It read 'Find Out Why You're Here Inside' "You've got to be kidding me... are these people idiots?" he asked himself incredulously. "Who would fall for such an obvious trap?" he shouted, insulted that anybody would think he would fall for that. "Fuck this shit." he said as he turned right and started off down the hallway. He was halfway to the end of the hall where it turned to the right when he stopped. He put a hand to his chin for a moment then looked back at the doorway he had stormed away from. 'Or... they know I wouldn't go in a door labeled like that... and that is really the exit... or they would know I would think like that and anticipate me to go in there anyways... or...' He groaned aloud and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. 'These people are either some of the most clever shinobi I've ever heard of or they are the dumbest. There is no way to tell one way or the other!' He looked back up at the door again, the sign hanging crooked by a string on the doorknob looked almost like it had been slapped together minutes ago. He walked back over to the door with the sign and stared at the sign up close. The lettering was shiny and reflective in the dull light of the overhead florescent bulbs. 'Is... is that paint still wet?' he wondered. He reached out a hand and dragged a finger across the letter 'F' and cursed in annoyance when his finger was stained red by the confirmed wet paint. Wiping his finger on the wall he stared at the door. Finally after several minutes he took another deep breath and said to himself,

"I gotta know. Here goes nothing." He reached out and turned the doorknob, then very gently, very slowly, pushed the door open. Wincing with anticipation he expected a trap to be set off by the opening, but nothing happened. Surprised but pleased with his choice he stepped inside the room and closed the door behind himself.

He found himself standing in a massive circular chamber with a domes ceiling, nearly one-hundred feet in diameter, with four doors including the one he had entered through positioned at ninety degrees from one another. The flooring in this room was earthen and in the center of the floor sat a young woman. The woman appeared to be older than himself by a several years, looking to be around eighteen years old. She was sitting with her knees pulled up below her chin and her arms wrapped around her shins, grinning at him as he stood there eying her suspiciously. She had deeply tanned skin and hair as deep a black as a shadow at midnight. Her hair was pulled back and woven into a very tight fishtail braid that hung down her front over her right shoulder. Her bangs were swept to hang over the right side of her face and diagonally across her forehead she wore a shinobi headband with the symbol for Iwagakure, tilting it in such a way that it covered her right eye like an eye patch. Her other eye excitedly stared into his own, a pale lavender that seemed to glow. She wore a black tank top with netted shinobi under armor visible beneath. Down her arms she wore white shinobi wrappings, covering her from her fingertips to just below her shoulder. She wore loose fitting black cargo shorts that fell just below her knees, and from the knee down to her boots her shins were also covered in white wrappings. From where he stood it appeared that the back of her tank top exposed her entire back up to her shoulder blades where it crossed over to remain a functioning shirt. His eyes were then drawn to her smile, and her unusually large canines which, although not so big as to be unnatural, did seem to contradict her sleek toned body type in a way that he couldn't quite put his finger on. After several moments of silence as they sized one another up Minato finally spoke.

"Who are you?" he asked in an even tone, trying to speak in as deep a tone as wouldn't sound fake. She leapt to her feet and placed hands on her hips before responding,

"MY name is Kuri Sierra. Who are YOU?" she said pointing a finger at him from across the chamber. Minato looked down at his hands quickly then in a dead voice devoid of emotion he said,

"I am the jinchuriki of the Kyubi. Why am I here? What do you want?" the girl frowned and 'tsk'ed several times while shaking her head, a clear display of mock pity.

"Wrong answer eh? Okay well whatever for now. If you want to know why you are here you need to go through that door over there." she said pointing to the door directly across the space from where Minato stood. Looking closely Minato could see another sign hanging from that door as well, this sign reading 'This Way.'

"Okay, thanks I guess." replied Minato keeping a skeptical eye on her as he attempted to take a step to the right to circle around the room.

However his step was blocked and immediately retracted when she suddenly threw a kunai right where his foot would have now been if he had completed the step. He leapt back and raised his fists to defend himself, having no shinobi tools of his own to return fire with.

"Okay, so you're not gonna let me go through that door?" he shouted angrily.

"Nah, you can go through. I just want to see what you're made of first." she replied with a bright mischievous smirk. Minato growled, frustrated by the entire situation and especially at this bizarre woman blocking his path.

"Fine, I'll show you!" he shouted and in the blink of an eye he disappeared from sight. Kuri blinked in surprise and whistled aloud clearly impressed. Then her eye darted to the left and she raised both of her forearms into a block. Minato's foot then impacted her guard at high speed. Minato then twisted his body and brought his other leg down in an ax kick towards her head, but she twisted her arms around and grabbed Minato's leg using it to pull herself around to the left to dodge the kick and fling him to the ground. Minato however caught himself on the ground and now in a hand stand position he proceeded to deliver a swift, powerful series of kicks at her, pushing her back as she blocked them with her arms. Minato then roared as he twisted around, spinning on the flat of his back and shouting,

"Konoha Twister!" he stuck his legs out, one high one low as he spun to serve a staggered series of high and low kicks which Kuri struggled to deflect at such high speeds. Minato then spun up to a standing position and tried to throw a punch at her face. Kuri dodged to the side around his fist while moving forward and she kneed Minato hard in the gut. As he was bent over her knee he raised her arms and brought down a two fisted punch towards Minato's back. Minato however rolled to the side and again spun on the flat of his back, kicking her legs out from underneath her then flowing into a downwards ax kick to her torso. The impact from his kick was brutal, knocking the wind from Kuri's lungs and causing her cough up a small amount of blood. Then a smile split her face and she quickly flew through a series of hand signs before shouting,

"Doton: Shifting Earth's Pain!" Suddenly the ground beneath Minato's foot that was not buried in Kuri's stomach slid out parallel to his kick, causing Minato to fall painfully into a splits. Then just as he fell into the leg spread stone cuffs formed around his ankles, trapping him against the ground with his legs spread. Kuri rose to a standing position as Minato struggled to free himself. She backed up a few steps before forming more handseals and shouting,

"Katon: Searing Arrow Barrage!" Out of her mouth she shot five missles of fire shaped like arrows and hurtling towards Minato at high speed. Minato grunted then he wrenched his waist painfully, dislocating his right leg. With his leg dislocated he had the flexibility to wrench free from the stone cuffs and dodged right, narrowly avoiding the fire attack which pierced deep into the earth where he had been trapped with great penetrating power. Minato's hands glowed green and grabbing his upper right thigh he roared as he popped the limb back into place. Minato jumped towards her, his knee raised ready to deliver a boot to her head. Smirking she formed a few hand seals and said,

"Doton: Rotating Doors." She leaned back and fell against the the earth on her back, but when she hit the ground a rectangle formed out of the earth and swung around taking her underground and blocking Minato's kick.

Looking around quickly his ears turned and rotated trying to hear out her location. Then a rectangle formed out in the center of the space several yards from Minato and she came out of the earth standing. She stood smiling at him and wiped a little blood from her mouth before saying,

"Okay, you can go little 'Kyubi' dude." placing great emphasis on the word Minato had used to describe himself. "Right through that door over there." she said reminding him which direction to travel. Minato was stuck frozen in surprise at the abrupt end to the fight, expecting to have to defeat the woman to pass.

"You're letting me go? But I didn't win."

"So?" she asked, the same mischievous smile on her lips. "Just keep moving, I don't wanna tire you out to early." She then turned her back on him and started walking towards one of the doorways Minato had neither entered from nor was about to exit through. He then noticed that she had a tattoo going all the way up her back, a tattoo of a tail covered in blue curling patterns, and as she walked away he could have sworn he witnessed the tattoo move. Deciding to ignore the strangeness and accept a gift given to him he stepped up to the next door and rolled his neck and shoulders before turning the knob. He found that on the other side of the doorway was a room of similar dimensions, but with two shallow pools of water near the edges of the room. The room was much colder than the last and he could see his breath in front of his face. Closing the door behind himself he looked and saw another young woman in this room, this one sitting atop a massive ball of what appeared to be thick steel chains rolled up into a sphere almost like yarn is rolled into a ball. She sat cross legged and stared at him with unsmiling intensity. She stared at him with eyes of different colors, the right was deep green while the left was yellow gold. She had short cut hair that did not reach her shoulders and laid flat, it was a deep red-brown color that highlighted her eyes and her pale white skin as well. This woman looked about twenty years old and wore a white fur lined gray parka over top of netted under armor with white wrappings underneath the netting covering her chest. She wore brown pants over thick mud colored boots and her fingernails were painted an icy pale blue. He noticed that around her neck she wore a shinobi headband with a geometrically symmetrical crystal shape on it, the symbol for the village of Shimogakure, which he remembered hearing had only recently become influential.

_**AN: In English this means 'The Village Hidden in the Frost' It is located in the Land of Frost southwest of the Land of Lightning**_

As Minato walked towards the center of the room he noticed a sign on the door behind her and opposite him that said 'Not There Yet, Through Here' he inwardly cursed and turned his eyes to again look at the woman he walked towards. Her face was an impasse, revealing nothing at all of her thoughts or emotions. She coolly stared him down as he came to stand a few feet in front of her.

"So who are you now?" Minato asked hiding his frustration and fear that he would have to fight her too.

"I am Akane Kagoshima-Ishida. They call me 'The Ice Princess of Shimo' and this is my training room. Who are you?"

'Training room?' wondered Minato inwardly as he responded, "I am the jinchuriki of the Kyubi and I want to know why you abducted me and brought me here." He looked down at the weapon upon which she sat and recognition struck him. "Hey, those chains are the same ones that helped tie me up in Konoha!" She sat unfazed by the accusation, evenly replying,

"Yes they are. I helped bring you here, as did we all participate in the act. Why do you ask?" she crossed her arms in front of herself in an icy display of defensiveness as Minato growled at her.

"What do you mean why? You fucking abducted me! Why? Why the hell am I here?" She stared at him, her gaze so steady she gave the appearance of being unblinking.

"If you want to know you must continue. But first I want you to do something."

"What you want to fight me too?" he demanded lowering into a fighting stance.

"No." she said flatly. "I want you to answer some questions I have for you." Minato rose from his battle stance but glowered at her nonetheless.

"I'm not telling you anything about Konoha."

"I wasn't going to ask." she said her body unmoving like a statue. "Tell me what your parents names are." she asked with her cold stare then added as if a second thought, "Please." Minato blinked in surprise at this question then responded,

"Rock Lee and Sakura Lee."

"And you are indeed their son?"

"You asked who my parents were, why would I give you the names of somebody else? I have no reason to lie about that."

"Really? Am I the only one who you might be lying too?"

"... Yeeeeessss... You're the only one here Ice Princess."

"No I am not, if you might recall there are currently two people in this room." Minato rolled his eyes and groaned,

"Well yeah duh, fine how about you're the only Other person here is that better?" She was silent for a moment then finally broke her gaze from him and looked to the wall. She took off her parka and raised her hands into a meditative position before closing her eyes.

"You can go." she said to him without opening her eyes. Minato shook his head, stupefied by the bizarre conversation as he headed towards the door. He chanced one more look backwards at Akane and as with the other woman he noticed something he hadn't before. She too had a tattoo on her back, and her tattoo also depicted a tail. The difference however was that there were two tails on her back and they were not decorated with deep blue swirls but with pale icy blue flames. And again he could have sworn they moved a little but upon reaching the door he looked away from her to the next chamber.

He opened the door and stepped into another massive training room, but what he found within amazed him. The room was filled with floating columns and flowing midair strings of water. The gravity defying water looped and twisted and in places remained perfectly still. 'What could do this?' he wondered then he noticed that standing atop a large disk of water that floated in the center of the room was another woman. But what shocked him most what that he recognized this woman, this woman he knew for a fact was fourteen years old.

"Naruka?" he cried out in disbelief, mouth agape. Turning away from the flowing water she had been focusing on she noticed his presence and smiled softly.

"Hello, good to see you again. How are you doing?" the woman asked in a friendly, if not reserved and even, tone. The girl had white skin tinged slightly dark from her life in the desert but not deeply tanned. She wore a baggy red shirt with long beige colored sleeves but with the top section of the shirt cut off from the shoulders up, so that it hung on her biceps and exposed her neck and shoulders to the air. A netted tank top could be seen and she had two bright red tattoos visible, one on each shoulder and each a single kanji. On the front of her right shoulder was the kanji for 'peace' and on the front of her left was the kanji for 'togetherness'. She wore red pants as baggy as her shirt, the hem of which dragged along the ground but as she was now standing atop water it sat in the water itself and around her waist she wore her Sunagakure headband facing forward. She had bright red hair that formed short matted spikes and from the middle back of her head hung down a very short spiky ponytail. Her eyes appeared without pupils, were green, and were ringed by dark lines on her eye sockets. Her small polite smile denoted dignity and grace as well as reliability and loyalty. However what always drew the eyes immediately when he looked at Naruka was the pair of massive tan gourds she carried with her tied to her back by white cloth harnesses that looped around her torso, revealing the delicate developing curves that lay hidden beneath her baggy clothes.

For a moment Minato could hardly respond, too surprised to see her to speak. Eventually he stammered out,

"F-fine, I'm f-fine." he then shook his head to get a grip of himself and asked the question that had stupefied him. "Wait! Why are you, you of all people, here? I mean you're the Kazekage's daughter for Christ sake." She chuckled gently in response and lowered the arms she had until now held outstretched. On cue all of the water floating in the air around the room dropped out of the sky and a cacophony of splashes announced their arrival on the ground. The water flowed into a reservoir that was set into the floor in the middle of the room taking up at minimum half of the floor space. The only water still in the air she stood upon and without even so much as a wave of the arm the disc of water hovered down and lowered Naruka to the ground next to Minato.

"I, my friend, happened to be here for the same reason you are here now." Minato then cautiously raised a finger to point at her and asked,

"Wait... the water... was that you in my bedroom?" she smile at him and nodded affirmation. His finger lowered then rose to cup his chin as he thought on what that meant. "So... I still don't know why I am here though. I mean I thought it was because I'm the Kyubi but..." her smile then took on a different nature, becoming filled with sadness instead of joy.

"Oh no my friend, it would appear you still haven't grasped it. Well you must go on to the next room and ask the man there if he is able to tell you." She pointed across the room to a door upon which hung a sign reading 'In Here Maybe, Maybe Further Still'. Minato looked hopeful for a moment, asking,

"So the next room has the answer?" When she shook her head his enthusiasm melted away. "Ugh, great. Well... I guess I keep going, too late to turn back." she smiled encouragement at him and walked off to a side door, pulling water into the gourds on her back as she walked, as he reached for the knob of the next door he needed to pass through.

_**Dear Reader,**_

** Oh my... Well it appears I will be breaking my promise to introduce all the Original Characters in this chapter, but the length got away from me and if I had kept going this chapter would start looking like two chapters squished into one. I hope you all find the characters compelling and fun, and in the next chapter we will learn a great deal more about their location and the nature of what brings them all together there. Minato will have to grasp the point of what it is that brings him there and if he does not soon then who knows what will happen to him. The first Original Character, Kuri Sierra, was made by my friend on deviantart named ** **KuroyukiDragon95II. The second Original Character, Akane Kagoshima-Ishida, was created by my colleague HotSpot the 626****th**** . The third Original Character, Naruka of the Oasis daughter of Garra of the Desert, is my own brain child and I love her very much. An explanation for her ability will come later on but for now you will have to guess on your own. As always I appreciate and hope for reviews both critical and fun. I hope that this chapter did not disappoint and I hope ****you all stay excited for the next chapter. OH AND PLEASE REMEMBER TO HEAD OVER TO MY PROFILE AND PARTICIPATE IN MY POLL PLEASE!  
><strong>

_**Love, **_

_**Danthemanwithaplan7**_


	15. Chapter 14: Who Are You?

I hope that all who read this find enjoyment in doing so.

Dedicated to my best friend.

Don't own Naruto. But I do own a brand-new (new to me at the very least) white 2000 Oldsmobile Alero, so I feel like I did better than Kishimoto-san in this regard.

Chapter 14: Who Are You?

Minato reached down with a glowing green hand and massaged his right hip slowly, trying to alleviate the pain that slowly pulsated out of his joint from having had to reset his own joint. He stared at this latest door that stood direct in front of him, retracting the hand he had been reaching for the doorknob with. He turned around, his ears twitching with curiosity unaddressed and he called out,

"Naruka! Hang on a second!"

The girl walking towards a door halfway across the room to Minato's left. She stopped mid-stride and pivoted on her heel to address her friend with a patient smile.

"Yes? You need something more?" Minato swallowed hard, uncertain of whether he could continue to trust this girl who he had considered a friend for many years despite their brief and infrequent time spent in one another's company. But seeing her kind smile, the same smile she had worn on her face the first time they had been introduced to one another by Kushina, tugged at the pit of his stomach compelling him to speak his mind.

"I really need you to help me. I-" he looked down at his feet, his fists clenching tight causing his knuckles to fade to pale white. "I need direct answers Naruka! Please! Tell me why I'm fucking here! I... I can't understand this situation at all... If it's not the Kyubi then why?" He looked up at Naruka and she smiled sadly at him, her eyes filled with some indecipherable emotion. He ground his teeth together, his whole body shaking in anger. "Why? ! ?"

"My friend... I wish that it was something that I could tell you." She walked with a light step across the chamber towards him, not breaking eye contact with the furious genin as she spoke. "But... if I were to tell you then you would never be able to truly understand. Can you trust me?"

Reaching Minato she reached out and laid a gentle hand as soft as satin upon his bare shoulder. He turned his eyes away from her, looking at the ground to her right instead so that he did not need to look into those compassionate eyes that uncomfortably pierced through his anger to a part of him that he preferred to keep private. "Please, trust me when I say that I would never allow anything to happen to you that did not need to. Alright my friend?" She tiled her head to try and regain eye contact with the confused fox-eared boy. He looked back into her eyes and felt no malice in her gaze.

"A-alright Naruka... I trust you." he straightened where he stood and grabbed a firm hold of her shoulders looking at her with intense eyes. "So help me! Come on lets go together! With your help I could-" She interrupted his plead by placing a finger upon his lips. She then shook her head, her smile now fading to a worried frown.

"No my friend, you need to go onwards without me. But don't be afraid, you're never alone." Minato recoiled from her at the statement, his face twisting with disgust and his eyes darting down to his own body. Naruka quickly stepped forward, protesting his reaction. "No, that is not what I was referring to, I was-"

"I know what you meant..." he said, staring down with his hair and ears obscuring his eyes as his white clenched fists shook at his sides. "But still, you can't tell me I'm wrong. This thing is a part of me, it always has been and that is never going to change for my entire life!" he turned away from the redhead and threw one of his fists at the stone wall, leaving his fist against the sturdy stone surface as blood dripped down from his torn knuckle and trickled down the wall. Naruka turned her wrist to point her hand upwards and out of the open top of her left gourd a few small orbs of water. Turning her wrist to point her hand towards the wall and extending her fingers the water obeyed her command and floated to the wall and ran over the slowly lengthening trail of crimson, wiping it away leaving the surface clean though the water was now dyed a pale rouge as it returned to her gourd with another twist of her wrist. As she did all this she laid a hand upon the middle of Minato's hunched back and rubbed small circles into him in a soothing display of compassion and support. The two said nothing more to one another and after a few moments Minato removed his fist from the wall and straightened himself. Without looking at Naruka he turned again towards the door and approached it. As he turned the knob forcefully and exited the room a hopeful smile adorned Naruka's face, although it was interrupted momentarily as his sudden slamming of the door behind himself caused her to jump slightly.

Scowling in concentration and determination to learn why he was here he looked around the fourth massive stone chamber, seeing small bizarre mounds of solid stone scattered about the area, some even appearing to grow out of the walls. Then he heard the clang of steel against steel, heavy and forceful, very different from the twang of blades meeting. He followed the sound and spotted a large muscular man hunched over and striking a massive mallet against a chisel driving it deeper and deeper into one of the stone lumps on the near left side of the room. Minato coughed loudly, some would say rudely, to get the attention of the man. His gesture succeeded as the man suddenly straightened up and twisted around to look at Minato. The man was a good deal older than those Minato had encountered thus far, looking to be roughly in his mid-twenties. He had a strong wide jaw adorned with a small black soul patch. Despite the look of surprise on his face his hazel gray eyes cast a solid, steady gaze towards Minato, his nose being rather large and while narrow at the top widened out across the flat of the front giving the appearance that is nostrils were constantly flared. His short black hair lay naturally leaning back and forming sharp lazy upward curls which showed off rather proudly his large ears vaguely reminiscent of those on a monkey, and the tips of his hair were all peculiarly a bright red in juxtaposition to the hair's black roots and body.

His mouth shifted from a surprised 'oh' to an eager smirk through which protruded his larger lower canine teeth. He turned back to the lump of rock and reached down to pull the chisel out and as he did so Minato noticed that as did the first two people he had met that day the man had a tattoo stretching across his back displaying tails, his containing four of them each decorated with a single ridge of short white spines. This time however Minato was absolutely certain that the tails of the tattoo were in fact moving, slowly waving back and forth as the man heaved the chisel out of the stone in a single pull then ceasing movement afterward as he set the chisel and mallet against the wall. He then picked up a shinobi combat vest as deep blue as the sea. He threw the garment on over his bare torso and as he did so Minato noticed the shinobi headband tied around his right bicep, with the Kirigakure symbol emblazoned into the metal. He turned around and crossed his arms in front of his chest with a smug smirk spread across his face.

"So you're here, sorry the place is such a mess I was hoping you would take longer and I could break up more of these." he said as he kicked the mound of stone behind him with his heel. "Now come over here let me get a better look at you." he said waving Minato over with a broad gesture.

Minato kept his head low and walked stiffly as he made his way closer to the Kiri jonin. The shinobi in the blue battle vest stood there appraising Minato with his eyes as he stood before him and his iris widened in surprise. "Holy crap!" he exclaimed suddenly causing Minato to jump. He reached over and grabbed a firm, but gentle hold of Minato's chin and turned his head from side to side to get a better look at him.  
>"You're a much better medical-nin than we thought you were. There's hardly a scratch on you! I mean I didn't expect much damage from Kuri," he said offhandedly, releasing the increasingly uncomfortable Minato. "you're both mainly taijutsu specialists after all, but up against a weapons specialist like Akane and a ninjutsu specialist like Naruka I assumed you would have taken some harder hits." Minato huffed and crossed his own arms while looking off to the left.<p>

"What are you talking about? Only Kuri wanted to fight and she was using ninjutsu the whole time." Putting a hand to his chin the older man looked up in thought.

"Really? How unlike her to use-" then suddenly in mid thought his jaw dropped in clear outrage.

His wide eyed gaze shot to the doorway Minato had entered the room through. "WHAT? They didn't fight you! Dammit, what the hell is the point of a plan if people just ignore it!" His head shot back to Minato and he pointed at the genin, commanding, "Don't move a muscle!" Minato was so shocked that he froze in place and simply stared in confusion. The scowling man marched over to the doorway leading into Naruka's room and pounded his fist on the door. "Naruka! Sister Naruka open the door!" A half a second later the doorknob gently turned and the smiling face of Naruka popped through the doorway.

"Can I help you with something brother Kazuhiko?" He leaned over her placing weight on his hand now placed on the doorway so that he looked down angrily at Naruka.

"Go get sister Akane and both of you come here I need to talk to both of you right now." he growled at her. She looked up with a smile of embarrassed anticipation and asked,

"Is this about how neither of us fought him?" His eyes narrowed and he stood up recrossing his arms.

"Just get her." He then stepped through the doorway as she turned around and closed the door behind himself. Minato stood mouth agape and a drop of sweat rolling down the side of his head, his ears drooping. Soon he began to hear a muffled argument from the other room. He crept over to the door and carefully laid an ear upon it to listen in on the conversation. He was only able to glean fragments of the argument, and the tone in the voice of the man named Kazuhiko made it clear it was an argument, through the thick door. He was able to identify the voices involved as Kazuhiko, Naruka and Akane. Kazuhiko sounded furious as he heard his shout,

"You... fight... the fucking plan! Christ... point... learn... Minato!"

"Why... want... did just fine! Pointless... tradition... child!" was Akane's cold reply, her own shouting lacking the same heat as Kazuhiko's and instead containing an icy bitterness. He heard the gracefully even tone of Naruka as she seemingly tried to break up the fight while defending her position at the same time quite seemlessly.

"I... child as well... initiated... really difficult... old friend... could not... Kushina Imoto... friend..."

"What... Hell! No excuse... later... fix this!"

"Fine... leaving... have fun... resurfacing floor..."

"Bother, sister... not fight... focus... new... Brother Bee said so."

"Not finished... later... conversation... Bee-sensei!"

"Fine... training... meditate in peace... Brother Bee... fool..."

"God Damn It!"

"Whatever."

"Siblings... arguing..."

Minato heard heavy footsteps approaching and leapt back to stand where he had before Kazuhiko left the room. The door opened and closed without the heated slamming Minato had expected as Kazuhiko walked back into the room, a smile on his face and rubbing his palms together.

"Sorry about that, a little business I had to attend to. They are going to fight you later just so you're aware, they are just both being poor team players right now. So, where were we?" Minato's expression became a flat one and a drop of sweat rolled down the side of his head at Kazuhiko's nonchalance.

"I was going to ask why I am here and who you are but I gather that your name is Kazuhiko?" The man laughed from deep within his belly, his hearty chuckling echoing through the room.

"Right to the point I see? I like that little man. Well yes my name is Kazuhiko, Kazuhiko Nakamura jonin from Kirigakure, the famous 'land raiser' of the hidden mist." he said puffing his chest out in pride and beating a single fist upon it once. "And before I can tell you why you are here I need to ask you who YOU are." Minato hunched over, looking dejectedly at the ground in an air of despair as he responded.

"You already fucking know who I am I heard you arguing about me in the next room." Kazuhiko raised an eyebrow and placed his hands on his hips as he widened his stance.

"Really now? Well why not tell me anyways just so we're clear here." Minato looked back up at him with annoyance etched across his face.

"Fine. I'm Kyubi jinchuriki of Konoha. Now why am I here, are you after Kyubi?" Kazuhiko's expression turned sad and he shook his head with a heavy sigh.

"Guess I can't tell you after all. Well you may find what you're looking to know in the next room," he said nodding towards the next door on which hung a sign that read "Try In Here Next". "But first, I'm not taking it easy on you like the girls did, you have to fight me." he smirked and dramatically pointed a fist at Minato as Minato fell into a fighting stance ready to defend himself. "So prepare yourself to face the power of-" and just as he was about to finish his dramatic challenge a large flat pan fell down from the ceiling and his Kazuhiko square in the top of the head, causing his head to be tilted to the side with the pan still resting on top and a blank expression adorning his face as a drop of sweat rolled down the side of his head. Minato shouted a surprised 'EH?' and his facial features all widened in pure comedic shock.

Soon the laughter of children filled the room and out from behind a large mound of stone two identical children rolled, clutching their sides as they laughed themselves to tears.

"Hahahaha we got you soooo good Kazuhiko!" said one in between his laughing and gasping for air.

"You were all like 'Blerf!' it was so classic!" responded the other as they shared a high-five with one another.

"I loved the eye-brow guy's reaction he was all 'WHAAAAAA?' Hahahahahaha!" said the first again. The two boys, apparently identical twins, both shared short cropped flat laying black hair on top of square shaped heads and small ears, and they each wore swimming goggles around their necks. They both wore collarless blue one-piece jumpsuits with red trim and the symbol for Kiri across the backs. As they laughed a third young voice cried out from the direction of the left-hand side door, this one distinctly feminine.

"You guys! Stop messing up Kazuhiko-nii! He is doing important stuff right now, leave him alone!" The voice came from a young girl, the same age as the twins and with very similar features, also having a more square head though less so and more feminine in shape and flat laying hair that she kept cut just long enough to cover the tops of her small ears. Her hair was also black but for the tips which were red like Kazuhiko's though Minato could clearly see that where the jonin's hair was naturally red tipped hers was dyed that way as the fading colors in need of touch up indicated. It dawned on Minato that the three kids were in fact triplets with the two boys being identical twins and the girl a fraternal sibling to the others. They all appeared around eleven and Minato watched on in deep confusion as the girl marched across the space and picked her brothers up by the scruffs of their necks and bumped their heads together.

"Owww!"

"Owww!" they said in synchrony at her abuse and while they rubbed their heads she whirled around to look at Kazuhiko with her hands raised and fingers interwoven in a pleading gesture of reverence. Her voice became overly sweet and innocent sounding, a blush covered her face and her eyes became big twinkling saucers of adorableness as she spoke to the jonin.

"I'm soooo sorry Kazuhiko-nii. I tried to stop them but they snuck in here while I wasn't looking. Please forgive me for not stopping them. They are just so childish, I wish they were as mature as you and me Kazuhiko-nii." Minato dry, blank expression was interrupted by the raising of a single eyebrow at the obvious display of misplaced affections the young girl was making towards Kazuhiko, who he assumed was their older brother. Kazuhiko remained seemingly oblivious to her obviously flaunted inappropriate feelings and smiled at her in a patient fatherly way as he rubbed the goose egg forming on the crown of his head.

"It's fine Asuka the boys were just fooling around, it was a funny prank." he turned to the boys and spoke to all three at once, remaining patient and kind in tone. "I know you guys are feeling restless so far away from home and cooped up in the suite while we're doing this stuff with the new one, but I would appreciate if you could manage to keep yourselves entertained in the suite for a little bit longer while I finish up with my turn alright? I'll be finished in no time then I can help you on some kunai throwing exercises alright?" The boys nodded with identical grins and took of scrambling over one another's limbs towards the left hand side door. Asuka watched them run with a look of annoyance and embarrassment before returning to her lovestruck face and addressing her older brother once more.

"You sure you're not mad Kazuhiko-nii? Do you promise to help me with the kunai techniques, they are so haaard." he placed a gentle hand on her head and rustled her hair as he smiled and said,

"Sure thing, just try to keep an eye on Koki and Hayate for me while I fight this genin alright?" She giddily jumped up and down, squealing in delight. She then took off after her brothers and could be heard scolding them as she closed the door behind herself.

Then suddenly Minato nearly leapt out of his pants in surprise as a stream of molten earth shot at the doorway, completely covering it up sealing it closed as the earth rapidly cooled into solid stone.

"There, now we don't have to worry about that again." said Kazuhiko as he wiped trace amounts of the molten earth off his mouth on his forearm. Minato stood in slack jawed horror at the display of lava-release, now scared for his life about fighting this jonin. Kazuhiko turned to Minato with a wicked grin that showed of his massive lower canines and the began to fly through hand seals as he shouted,

"Now show me what you're made of kiddo!" Ending on a tiger seal his chest inflated with a massive inhale of breath and Minato took off as fast as he could in the opposite direction. "Lava-Release: Great Volcanic Breakthrough!" and with those words uttered a massive deluge of boiling hot lava released from his mouth, moving in an enormous wave towards the entirety of the rest of the room. Looking over his shoulder Minato thought fast and took off up the nearest wall to get above the overwhelming assault the jonin had released against him. Minato panted as he stood on the wall, clinging to it with chakra as he looked below at the floor of the chamber now completely covered in hot magma. He looked around and saw Kazuhiko standing in the center of the chamber ceiling, holding several kunai and shuriken in throwing positions. He was smirking at Minato and seeing this Minato clenched his teeth in fury. With a roar he took off across the chamber roof towards Kazuhiko, carefully dodging the projectiles lazily thrown at him by the jonin without allowing both of his feet to leave the surface at any one time lest he fall to his death. Kazuhiko laughed approvingly as Minato managed to twirl and duck past the blades and closed in on him. Minato shouted wordlessly as he reached Kazuhiko and began to assail him with a series of punches which the jonin handily deflected without much effort. Bouncing on the balls of his feet as his father had taught him he switched to an ancient art that only he and his father still practiced due to the fact that it excluded using the legs in combat, but for this situation it was perfect.

"Bare Knuckle Boxing!" Minato shouted as he landed several punched on Kazuhiko's abs. As Kazuhiko moved his arms to block his abs Minato immediately threw a right hook at his chin, which Kazuhiko easily bobbed past. Minato knew he needed to make a decisive blow or he was finished and he feigned right following through with two left pops to Kazuhiko's unguarded left side. As the blows connected Minato went in for the hay-maker with his right but was met instead with a massive fist in his face from the jonin.

The blow was so mighty it knocked Minato clear off of the ceiling, sending him plummeting towards the molten earth below. Kazuhiko quickly flew through hand seals and shouted,

"Suiton: Water Shuriken!" he spat a rapid series of shuriken shaped water blades that sped past Minato and directly into the magma he was heading for, creating a massive cloud of steam as the blades repeatedly impacted the surface. Minato closed his eyes and prepared to burn to death, but instead felt himself impact against solid stone, knocking the wind out of him as he lay there in pain upon a stone island in a sea of lava. Kazuhiko continued spiting water blades all over the room until after a few minutes the entire floor had cooled into solid stone as black as night. He then leapt down and stood over Minato watching as the young man held glowing green hands to his broken ribs to heal them, ignoring for now the broken nose on his face as it bled all over his tank top. Kazuhiko waited for Minato to stop healing his ribs then held out a hand to help him off the ground.

"Good fight kid, you kept your head and didn't back down. Though in the future remember that retreat is a valid option against a foe that outclasses you hahaha." Minato looked up and while healing his nose with one hand he took the outstretched hand with the other and was hoisted up to his feet. He looked the jonin up and down, seeing slight yellowing of the skin on he left cheek and he grinned.

"I'll keep that in mind. So let me guess, go to the next room?" he said as he gestured towards the doorway that lay halfway beneath the cooled stone, the sign burned off.

"You got it. Ask the right questions and say the right things and you will find out why you are here in no time." Kazuhiko patted a heavy hand on Minato's shoulder and shoved him towards the next door encouragingly as he mumbled something about remembering where the mallet and hammer were before realizing they were beneath all the magma. Minato laughed at the jonin's distress and moved towards the door, the knob just above the stone floor now and he crawled his way through the now half doorway into the next room.

The next room was such a stark difference between the previous rooms it caught Minato completely off guard as he fell into waist high grass. The room was of the same dimensions as the others but was filled with plant life, tree's, bushes, grasses and shrubs. It was an entire botanical system complete with ultra violet florescent bulbs strung all across the ceiling along side a complicate ceiling sprinkler system to replicate rain, which was currently running drenching Minato's clothes in seconds with it's heavy downpour. Wading through the swampy soil underfoot and the high grass at his waist he made for the center of the room where the thickest concentration of trees lie. He got underneath the canopy of the leaves to try and stay dry and search for the resident of this room. As he walked over the layer of marshy muck that consisted of dirt, dead leaves and water he called out.

"Hello?" Immediately following the question Minato felt a foot impact his middle back and was knocked into a tree trunk. A shinobi had jumped down out of a nearby tree and landed a clean kick to Minato's middle back, causing him considerable pain but minimum damage. Minato turned to face his attacker and was shocked to see a woman. She looked only a couple of years younger than Kazuhiko, stood only an inch or so shorter, and also wore a battle vest, hers colored gray. But that was where the similarities ended. Her hair was platinum blonde and hung down to her middle back and was pinned out of her face by two small hairpins shaped like red clouds. Her piercing blue eyes were resting smugly above a beautiful smirk. She wore beneath her combat vest a one sleeved purple robe the edges of which reached down to below her ass, the one sleeve loose fitting over her right arm the other arm bare from the shoulder down. She wore leggings of gray that came down to her shins and on her exposed forearm she wore a headband plate set into a bracer, the symbol for Amegakure set into it's center.

"So, you made it. That was quick, I was hoping that Brother Kazuhiko wouldn't burn you to a crisp just yet. Now it's my turn teeheehee." she walked over and leaned up against the tree looking down at Minato as he slowly got to his feet and steadied into a battle stance. "So who exactly are you supposed to be kid?" Minato rolled his shoulders and said with some bitterness,

"I'm Kybui Jinchuriki. Who are you?" She smiled and stopped leaning on the tree as she began to walk a circuit around Minato.

"I'm Kana Mihidori of Amegakure. And I'm going to work you like a dog before I let you to the next room." She stopped circling and cracked her knuckles excitedly.

"Wait!" shouted a flustered and desperate Minato. "Tell me why I am here first!" She shook her head as she rolled her exposed shoulder.

"No can do, you gotta keep going small fry. Now..." She reached into her tool pouch and pulled out a traditional Amegakure breathing mask, fixing it over her lower face. "Get ready for a fight!" She then dove headfirst into the ankle deep water shocking Minato as her whole body fell beneath the surface cleanly. Minato darted over to where she dove and felt an edge with his submerged feet.

'Damn, underwater tunnels hidden in the swamp. Gotta act fast.' Minato leapt for the tree tops, just in time as his foot narrowly avoided a hand as it erupted out of a separate hidden tunnel and grabbed for his ankle. He ran up the tree as quickly as he could, the rain getting in his eyes obscuring his vision as he made for the canopy. He burst through the leaves and landed cleanly on the dense surface of the canopy fists raised to fend of a surprise attack. He looked around frantically searching for Kana but saw nothing. Then he noticed that he didn't feel the raindrops anymore. He looked up just as Kana came down with an axe kick to Minato's shoulder, eliciting a roar of pain from the genin. Minato didn't let the pain block his mind though and quickly delivered an arial kick to her midsection as she was recovering from the attack on his shoulder. The blow knocked her several meters away across the canopy where she landed on her feet as Minato tried to heal his broken shoulder with what was left of his chakra reserves.

She flew through hand seals, but was interrupted by a punch from Minato directed at her joined hands. She smirked and immediately grabbed a hold of either side of Minato's head and headbutted the genin, causing lights to dance before his eyes as he fell on his back, nearly slipping through the canopy and falling. Kana sighed contentedly and twisted her neck, popping the joints in her vertebrae. She the threw a kunai up towards a corner of the ceiling and with a loud metallic clunk the rain tapered of and ceased.

"Come on get up you big baby. It was just a headbutt get it together." she scolded as she scooped Minato up bridal style and leapt towards the ground with the reeling genin in her arms. She landed softly in the marsh and let Minato down on his own feet as he regained a sense of balance.

"Bitch..." he mumbled, still clutching his head and wobbling back and forth. She simply laughed at the comment and spun him around by the shoulders, pushing him towards the exit door, the sign hanging from it blank presumably the fresh paint washed of by the rain. He stumbled towards the door and waved backwards at the intense jonin as he entered the next room.

He stumbled into another barren chamber, empty but for the man sitting cross legged in the middle of the arena hunched over a pile of books, beakers, mortars and pestles, burners and other chemistry equipment. Minato made his way over and observed how different this man looked from everyone else he had met so far. He was a rather lanky man, long limbs but little muscle mass visible on them. He wore a white lab coat open in the front and beneath that he wore a tee shirt of netted under-armor. His khaki pants were covered in bulging pockets and his hands were in rubber gloves. His hair was pale white and hung down laying flat and just long enough to cover his forehead. His face was pale white and sickly looking and he wore thick glasses that obscured his eyes completely. Minato coughed to get his attention and the man looked up from the mortar and pestle he was using to grind out some herb. As he looked up Minato could see the metal headband plate situated in the middle of his chest connected to the netted armor, the symbol on it signifying Takigakure.

The man sniffed hard and put down the grinding tools before taking off his gloves to reveal his spindly fingers. He held out a hand and introduced himself.

"Hello, I'm Byron Kishinhoko, the world renowned poison expert from Takigakure." Minato hesitantly took the hand and shook it, anticipating some kind of trick. Instead Byron retracted his hand once the handshake had lasted only an instant and asked,

"So you're a medical-nin? And you're mom is the famous Slug Witch of Konoha?" Minato's face turned bright red in rage and he shouted.

"YOU CAN'T CALL MY MOM A WITCH! HOW DARE YOU!" The man seemed unperturbed and simply asked,

"So that is a yes then?" Minato then hunched over in a gloom and answered,

"Yeah that's her..."

"Then I'm not fighting you." He then put his gloves back on and returned to the grinding of the herb. Minato stood with confusion on his face then asked,

"Wait why?" The man adjusted his glasses and answered,

"Because you might find a cure for one of my precious poisons and I can't have that. Go on," he nodded towards a door on the far side of the room, a sign on which read "Almost There!" continuing he said, "get going." Minato hesitantly made his way over towards the door, the chamber filled only with the sounds of his footsteps and the herb being ground slowly into paste. Suddenly the silence shattered as Byron cried out,

"WAIT!" Minato nearly jumped out of his skin and he whirled around to shout back,

"What!" Byron was looking at him through his super thick glasses and calmly said,

"I'm supposed to ask you who you are first. Who are you?" Minato blinked in surprise and responded,

"I'm Kyubi!" Byron shook his head in disappointment and returned to his work, ignoring Minato again. Minato slapped his palm against his face and turned the knob to enter the next room.

_**Dear Readers,**_

**Holy mother of God! This is turning into a three chapter arc just about Minato and this organization! I never expected it to turn out so long, but I suppose it's a good sign in the end. Anyways I hope you enjoyed the Original Characters here. All of them belong to me except for Kazuhiko and his siblings, they are the product of the mind of Hot Spot the 626th, he was really helpful with this arc. As always please submit reviews with your opinions and comments, I want to hear from you all. Remember to go to my profile and vote on which couple is superior, MinatoXKushina or MinatoXSatsuki. Till next time, this is me and my brand new-ish white 2000 Alero saying HAPPY HALLOWEEN!**

_**Love,**_

_**Danthemanwithaplan7**_


	16. Chapter 15: Provocation of a Jinchuriki

**Yes it has been a long gap. Lots of hours at work is the cause of this freeze in writing. Hope you all enjoy after such a prolonged wait.**

I hope that all who read this find enjoyment in doing so.

Dedicated to my best friend.

I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. I only own my original characters. Kishimoto I swear you can have them if you want, I wouldn't mind at all.

Chapter 15: Provocation of a Jinchuriki!

Minato left Byron the peculiar poison master to his solitary work as he looked toward his next challenge. He turned the knob to the next chamber's door and walked through. He began to twitch his bright pink ears as he recognized the distinct swooshes of a blade cutting through the air in formulaic practice katas. He looked into this new room and noticed another change in decoration style. This room was modeled in the fashion of a dojo, wood paneling and rectangular mats covering the floor. The mangled and diced forms of training dummies lay in a pile near the wall, and adorning the walls hung various weapons arranged for both ornament and functionality. In the center of the chamber a man swung his blade through the air in a swift succession of strokes.

Sweat glistened off of the smooth hairless skin of his head as he moved. His stern focused expression emphasized the clean, strong lines of his facial features, making his face appear angular and sharp. Minato guessed by his appearance that he was about twenty four years old. His highly toned muscled rippled beneath the sweat coated skin of his exposed torso, a tattoo in the shape of the horn of a mighty stag beetle was situated vertically between his pectorals and down his abs ending above an intricate design or runes and markings surrounding his naval. His purple robes hung off of his waist, the upper half trailing it's long sleeves on the ground behind him and the lower half forming a traditional kimono skirt. He stood crouched with a long katana raised to next to his head in a rigid stance. With a movement almost too swift for Minato to see he brought the shining metal of the blade down in a masterful stroke that left a high pitched ring in the air. The man looked over towards Minato and smiled, rising from his lowered stance as he did so. He drew the length of his blade along a it's scabbard and reaching the tip deposited the blade within it. The sheathed blade sat in the sash of his kimono next to another blade of much shorter length, the longer scabbard colored gray and the shorter colored red.

"Greetings!" the man enthusiastically called out while grinning from ear to ear, surprising Minato with how contrary his attitude was from his appearance. "My name is Yukio, proud lieutenant in the samurai corp of the noble Land of Iron." he rested a hand atop the hilt of one of his blades and tilted his head to the side as he asked, "Who are you?" Minato placed a hand upon his stomach and gave his bitter reply.

"I'm Kyubi," he then raised an eyebrow and in an accusatory tone inquired, "and I'm guessing from everything I've seen thus far that you're Nanabi right?" Yukio burst into a short bit of laughter at this and then looked hard into Minato's eyes with an amused expression.

"Well, glad to see your at the very least perceptive if not that bright. However I'm sorry to disappoint you but no I'm not Nanabi." He turned around and across his back Minato could see an intricate tattoo of six yellow wings, latticed by thin membranes as an insect, and the tattoo also depicted a long green tail coiling around his lower back from where the wings met. He walked across the room as he pulled his robes upper portion on to cover himself up. Reaching the wall he pulled the long blade from his sash and carefully rested it against the wall next to several wooden blades of similar length. "So since you clearly need a little more time to think things out, we are going to pass the time with a good old fashioned spar." he leaned down and plucked two of the swords from their resting places against the wall. He turned back to Minato and held one up, smiling the whole time. "Well? You want one?"

"Why? I don't know any kenjutsu." Minato said as he rolled a shoulder and tried to figure out how best to ration his dangerously low chakra reserves. With a shrug Yukio tossed the spare practice blade aside as he chuckled.

"Your funeral. I _am_ a samurai after all." he said with his chin raised in pride. He then lowered into a ready stance with his wooden sword raised in front of him. "Come on! Let's go!"

Minato lowered into a fighting stance as well. As soon as he clenched his hands into fists Yukio disappeared from his sight in a blur of movement. With a gasp Minato darted to the right with his own incredible speed, narrowly dodging a lightning quick stroke from Yukio at where he once stood. The two dashed across the room alongside one another, Yukio a blur of blade and Minato deftly dodging all of the strokes. Taking the offensive Minato swung a low kick aimed at tripping Yukio as they ran, but Yukio leapt over the strike and brought down a vertical slash. Minato reacted with by kicking off to the side to avoid the blade. Minato spun around as he sidestepped and aimed a fist right at Yukio's jaw, but the samurai reacted quickly and batted Minato's fist to the side with the butt of his blade. Faster that the wind the two attacked each other, matching perfectly speed for precision, strength for experience. Yukio landed a hard blow to Minato's ribcage, cracking a rib with his blunt weapon. Minato took advantage of this and cried out,

"Leaf Monsoon!" He wrapped an arm around the weapon to hold it in place and spun his body around it in mid air to kick Yukio in the lower side, knocking the older warrior back several feet with his mighty blow. Yukio landed on his feet, and managed to pull his sword with him keeping it firmly in his iron grip.

"You're very, very fast for a shinobi. But unfortunately we samurai are trained to battle enemies faster and more agile than ourselves." He dropped to a knee and in a two handed grip held the sword before himself, above his head and inverted with a twist of his elbows. Minato darted forward with a fierce cry, ready to continue his assault on Yukio's defenses.

"Single Strike: Dismemberment." the swordsman said in a calm tone, then with a deep exhale he struck. The movement to quick to see left Yukio behind Minato with his sword pointed directly forward. For a moment nothing happened, then with a loud groan of pain Minato stumbled forward grabbing his shattered left shoulder blade. Falling to his knees his hand began to glow as he tried to use the last of his chakra to at least initiate the healing process for his shoulder. Yukio inhaled deeply then released the sword from his grasp and turned to stand facing Minato.

"Good fight! Kept me on my toes for a while there!"He walked over and laid a casual hand on Minato's uninjured shoulder as he talked to the glaring genin who was trying to heal his shoulder. "We're done here, you can go to the final room." Rising to his feet Minato gasped in excitement.

"What? You mean I finally find out what the fuck all this is in the next room?" With a chuckle Yukio replied,

"Well, one way or another, yes you will. Go on get out of here." He made his way towards the wall on which his blade rested and Minato scratched an ear in curiosity.

"So wait, you're all _not_ the other jinchuriki? But the tattoos are of tails and in order this makes seven rooms with an eighth waiting." Yukio paused and placed a hand to his chin in thought before responding.

"You only know half of the situation, you're ignoring the other side here. Maybe Bee will be able to help you figure it out but you're running out of time and options." With a slightly sad smile he glanced back at Minato before returning to retrieving his sword. Minato was thoroughly confused by the samurai's words, but decided to forge onward.

'I have to know what all this is.' Despite his lack of available chakra he decided that he would risk finishing what he started. With steady eyes he opened the final door, on which hung a sign reading, 'This is it!'

He entered into the eighth chamber in the series and was struck with the ornamentation. The chamber walls were covered in sheets of paper covered in scribbled words and musical melodies. A low grumbling emanated from the other side of the room, sounding to Minato almost like what he would imagine bees sounded like underwater. The hum was met with a melodic response from a deep masculine voice.

"Naw, naw, naw yo! Here's how it should go.

We can fight our desires,

But when we stop making fires!

We get ever so hot

Whether we like it or not!

They say we can love who we trust

But what is love with out lust!

See I tweaked the rhyme, at the end of the fourth line."

"Biririririri" the other sound responded, sounding somehow approving.

Minato looked around the room and spotted a tall man with a dark complexion standing next to the wall on the other side of the chamber scribbling lyrics on a sheet on the wall. He had pale blond hair tucked into tight cornrows vertically across his head. He wore on his forehead a headband for Kumogakure and over his eyes wore a tiny pair of black spectacles that concealed his eyes entirely. His blonde goatee hung long to his chest and on one of his cheeks was a small tattoo of bull horns. He wore no armor on his torso, instead wearing a series of three yellow scarves for a shirt leaving his toned abdomen exposed. His arms were bare but for his tan bracers and he wore tan pants tucked into his boots. Next to him on the ground was what Minato could only describe as a moving caterpillar of teeth. The mass of sharp scales was grumbling next to the man, seemingly understood by him and the two were holding a conversation.

"Hey!" shouted Minato to get the man's attention, succeeding as the man immediately spun around and grinned confidently.

"Yo! Here we go! Yo finally here time to start the show." The man tucked his pencil behind his headband and gently brushed his hand along the ball of needles as it purred. "Don't wanna sound rude, but Samehada you would kill this dude. Take a load off, while I go show off." Samehada growled in disappointment but turned and made it's way towards the wall, revealing to Minato it's handle like tail that ended in a small skull. The man then turned around abruptly and pointed both his index fingers at the young man standing confused and slightly terrified of the moving weapon. "YOU!" Minato jumped in surprise and responded hesitantly,

"Yeeees?"

"Kyubi! Meetin' me! Come to see! What ya gotta be! Yeah." the man's words struck at Minato's heart like a fist.

'Kyubi...' he thought, never having actually been called that before. The pain welled up once more inside of him and he clutched at his chest in sadness and hurt.

"Yeah... yeah I'm Kyubi. So who are you?" The man moved him arms back and forth as he rhythmically responded,

"The mighty, Killer Bee, the Hachibi, Jinchuriki!" The man turned to reveal that across his back were tattooed eight octopus tentacles in purple. The tattoo's moved and flexed across his skin, curling and wrapping around each other.

"So you guys are the jinchuriki, so I'm here to be forced to join some fucking cult of demon worship?" Minato angrily responded.

"He he he. Little Kyubi... Listen up.**" **The man bobbed on the balls of his feet as he fell into his rap, a large drop of sweat rolling down the side of Minato's unimpressed face.

"Bout to get rowdy right now.  
>Yeah. I'm an all time fighta, I make the next guy look like an acta.<br>So the madmen wail like they matta, when I touch mic I see the men scatta,  
>and they wanna talk big, but when it comes to big it they bout to get splatta,<br>So I tell them to relax yourself, go home to your mom and stop being a catta  
>Many guys wanna parr, many guys lookin to take this thing far<br>Many guys lookin to be some big star, but soon enough them man about to get slappa  
>So there's no need for chatter, no need for anything cheap and that's that<br>Anybody making a ting to get smacked up, back up, fuck no need to sound back " Bee inhaled deeply to reclaim his breath from such a rapid rap and Minato sat fairly impressed with the quality of the lyrics he had heard.

"**And I'm going to crush you like the little kit you really are!"**

Minato was struck with the sudden change in his voice and the room was rapidly filling with dense pressure from a massive source of chakra unlike anything Minato had ever felt. A cold sweat of pure terror broke out across his forehead. Bee's skin heaves and pulsed, beginning to stretch in places and expand. Soon a set of eight massive purple tentacles were expanding from his body out into the room.

His body burst in an expansion of purple flesh as his body filled the chamber, the tentacles pressing against the sides of the chamber. The massive suckers contracted and expanded threateningly and Minato watched in fear as the creature before him gained shape. From it's waist down it wall all octopus, but above that was the torso of a man with the head of a bull. It's skin was purple and sinewy, and steam erupted from it's huge nostrils.

"**Kyubi! Show me your power little Kyubi! Defend yourself with your power!" **And so the Hachibi beast reared back several tentacles and lashed them at Minato. Minato dashed away as fast as his leg could carry him, but the sheer size of the demons limbs made them almost impossible for him to avoid. Luckily the tightness of the space in comparison to the beasts size combined with it's reluctance to destroy the room made maneuvering hard for it. Minato fled for the nearest door in a panic, trying to escape the demon assaulting him. The Hachibi simply responded by blocking all the exits with one of it's tentacles. Minato backed against the wall in tears of terror as the Hachibi bared down on him.

"What do you want!" he cried out in terror.

"**I want you to fight me with your real power little Kyubi! Get outta that little body and fight me! I demand it!" **the eight-tails slammed it's fist down next to Minato rattling the entire building and knocking him off his feet.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Minato cried out.

"**You know exactly what I'm talking about. This ain't you. You look like some punk ass kid from Konoha. A little son of a bitch. You look like one of those bitch humans who hang out with all the other little bitches and whore in Konoha." **Minato froze and starred at the monster laughing at him. The tears wet against his cheeks dripped from his agape mouth as he blankly stared in awe at the chakra beast. 'Konoha... bitches?' Slowly his hands clenched into fists as he started to rise to his feet. His huge eyebrows lowered down his forehead to sit above his eyes in a display of pure fury. 'What did he call us!' he thought in his head.

He closed his eyes and images of Konoha flashed in his mind's eye, the streets bustling with life, the Hokage monument a statement of security, the training grounds with his friends, his parents walking him home after a day at the academy. Suddenly he remembered the question that Akane asked him.

_"Tell me what your parents names are."_

'Mom... Dad...' He recalled sitting in the backyard playing with his Rokudaime doll when he was a toddler. He remembered both of his parents just watching him play with silly grins on their faces. His mom and shouted,

"_We love you son!"_ across the yard at him. He remembered crying as his parents tried to get him to go play with the other children, before he got his earmuffs and hid his ears. He remembered saying something like,

"_Daddy the other kids don't have ears like me! They will hate me!" _And clear as if it was happening before his waking eyes he saw his father grab his face and look him deep in the eyes.

"_Don't EVER be ashamed of who you are son. You're a Lee, filled with the power of youth, and you're perfect just the way you are."_

He opened his eyes, an inextinguishable inferno burning deep within them. He stood as tall as he was able and looked right into the Hachibi's eye nearest him. His cheeks still wet with tears he inhaled deeply and shouted as loud as he was able,

"MY NAME IS MINATO LEE! I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE KYUBI I AM ME! I'M A GENIN OF KONOHAGAKURE NO SATO! AND WE ARE NOT BITCHES YOU GIANT SLIMY PIECE OF OCEAN SHIT!"

He sprang forward as fast as his beleaguered legs could carry him and leapt onto one of the Hachibi's tentacles. He ran along it's length towards the Hachibi's abdomen and began to assail it's stomach with all the might he had left. He roared with anger as he continually ignored his attacks ineffectiveness and blindly raged against his tormentor. His tears ran anew, not hot with his fury and he punched at the beast until his knuckles bled. Minato was so focused on his retaliation that for nearly half a minute he didn't even hear the booming sounds echo through the room. As he began to listen to it he realized it was the Hachibi laughing.

"**Hahahahaha! Finally! I thought we might actually have a failure on our hands here, can't say I wanted to find out what the plan was after that." **Minato looked up at the beast, unable to attack any longer and barely able to stand. Confusion and rage riddled his face.

"Are you mocking me you bastard!" The demon ignored his question and turned it's head up and to the side as if talking to someone behind him.

"**You were right Bee all he needed was a good shock." **

"You told ya fool, but damn that wasn't cool! Why did ya have to go there, those insults were just unfair." Minato was shocked once again as the voice filling the room suddenly changed back to the one Bee had originally spoken to him in.

"**Hey, you're the one who said I had to be brutal."**

"I didn't mean that far, what I had in mind simply wasn't on parr." Minato watched in complete bewilderment as the demon seemed to be chatting to itself in two separate voices and speaking patterns, making Minato think of a child talking to their imaginary friend. The demon turned back to look at him and a massive drop of sweat rolled down the side of it's head.

"**Uhhh Bee? Yeah he is just staring at us now... uhhh yeah I'm not good with this kind of stuff you take back over. I think we may have damaged his brain." **The demon turned to the wall and banged his fist repeatedly against it, causing the ground and walls to quake wildly. **"You guys can all come in now, he finally passed!" **it shouted through the wall. The body of the demon hissed and began to rapidly shrink in on itself, and in seconds the form of Killer Bee stood in the middle of the room again.

Suddenly the doorway Minato had entered through and the other seven jinchuriki and Kazuhiko's family came tumbling out, falling over each other in a massive heap of flailing limbs.

"Get off of me!" shouted Kuri from the bottom of the pile.

"Get out of my way and I might!" retorted an annoyed Kazuhiko.

"Who just grabbed my ass?" asked Yukio from somewhere in the middle.

"Shishishi, you know you liked it." replied Kana.

"Where did my glasses fall?" wondered Byron.

"They are beside Naruka's left ankle." answered Akane. A large sweat drop rolled down Killer Bee's jawline and he shouted at the ten of them.

"Shape up ya fools! Ya makin' us look like tools!" Soon after the group managed to untangle themselves from one another and all stood smiling at Minato. Minato had remained with the same blank look on his face. After a moment of uncomfortable silence Minato finally spoke.

"W...w-what? I don't..." He was interrupted by Naruka who in her soft gentle voice said,

"You finally passed Minato. All of this was simply a test to see if you had what it takes to be a jinchuriki." Minato looked down at his bloody hands and asked,

"What test? How did I pass?"

"You remembered the one thing that all jinchuriki need to know in order to remain sane, in order to survive their own darkness." said Yukio.

"I did?" he asked.

"That's right. You remembered that even if you are a jinchuriki, you're still you and always will be. You're Minato Lee, not the Kyubi. The Kyubi is the Kyubi and it's trapped in your body. But that doesn't make it a part of you. It's not easy to remember, but as long as we have each other and we have this family we will never let each other forget." Said Kuri.

Minato starred down and lifted his dog tags in his hand to stare at their imprinted surface which read 'Minato Lee'. Tears of joy dripped down his nose and fell upon the metal surface of the tags. He shook with his sobs as he felt the joy of realization flood through his body, chasing away the sadness that had gripped him by his very bones.

"Thank you. Thank you all so much." he said through sobs. Rubbing her nose Kana looked away and responded,

"Don't worry about it, that's what family is for brother." Minato blinked in surprise and looked up at her through his tear reddened eyes.

"B-brother? Family? Wha-"

"That's right yo, from now on your our bro! This here is a family, and help each other be happy. We are the brothers and sisters of the order great! The Order of the Tail Keepers made for love not hate!"

"Bee that sucked ass. Couldn't you at least have used a better rap for our introduction?" said Byron as he adjusted his thick glasses.

"The Order of the Tail Keepers?" Asked Minato as he wiped his eyes.

"Yup, and your officially in. You passed initiation so welcome to the family" said Kazuhiko with a massive smile. "Come on brother, lets show you around the place." He placed a heavy hand around Minato's shoulders and the group steered him away towards the doorway opposite the one he entered through. He was grinning like a fool the whole way.

"So you've probably already figured out most of the layout, each of us has a suit to live in while we stay here, and connected to the suit is a private training room. All the training rooms are connected directly to the next, well except for yours and Bees."

"I get my own room like this? And wait why aren't they connected?" asked a now excited Minato.

"Well you see it's a long story.-" he said as he opened the doorway and they all shuffled into a short hallway with a massive arched ceiling. Against either wall stood a titanic stone statue, the two statues staring at one another and forming hand seals. Looking at them Minato immediately recognized both of the figures represented and wondered aloud.

"Wait, is that Bee and the Rokudaime?" Bee grinned from ear to ear and skipped back away from them all as he began to rap.

"That's right you know what you see. This hall is a monument to the greatest battle in history!"

"A war monument?" asked Minato greatly impressed. All the other jinchuriki had drops of sweat rolling down their heads and sighed in embarrassment. Naruka leaned over to Minato and whispered in his ear.

"Not exactly. You see back when Brother Naruto still lead the order every time we all had the annual sabbatical Bee would spend the entire two months trying to get Naruto to agree to a rap battle."

"And finally Naruto broke down and agreed." Mumbled an embarrassed Yukio. Minato slapped himself hard in the face with an open palm and muttered to himself.

"Should have guessed it would be something stupid." While this conversation had gone on Bee had been narrating the year of preparation he spent coming up with his opening lines for the battle.

"Here on the wall! I recorded the rhymes for all!" He made a grand gesture towards a massive stone plaque embedded in the wall, a mirror copy adorning the opposite wall. Minato looked up and read to himself the lines. Naruto apparently started the battle off, and his lines made Minato laugh to himself.

_Naruto:"It seems so long ago,_

_ But it was just six years in the past,_

_ I won the fourth great war with my hair!_

_ Now I'm here to whoop you're ass!_

_ You think that you're hot stuff,_

_ You think you're clever as shit?_

_ Well tell me Bee,_

_ How come you never sat down_

_ And wrote an actual hit?_

_ You're a a washed up has bin,_

_ Rhyming words is your Nindo!_

_ And you're gonna loose this battle,_

_ Like you lost at __Unraikyō!_

_ You're a man child!_

_ Hyper like the Sarutobi!_

_ I'll crush you,_

_ Like I freakin crushed Tobi!_

_ I never told a lie _

_ And I won't start now!_

_ You're an eight legged squid_

_ And I'll put you down!"_

_Bee- "This isn't Konoha punk,_

_ I'd suggest retreating._

_ For I invented rap music,_

_ When my heart started beating._

_ Killer Bee doesn't battle,_

_ He just allows you too fail._

_ My raps will blow your mind_

_ Like the verbal eight tail."_

_Naruto- "I got my face on the side of a mountain!_

_ Your rapping is just a pain!_

_ I've got an army of my clones,_

_ And I'm about to make it rain!_

_ You hit people with swords?_

_ I bash them with my skull!_

_ Is there anybody who could date you?_

_ Cuz a person like that I've never known!"_

_Bee- "I am Killer fucking Bee!_

_ I've spread more blood and gore_

_ Than forty score _

_ Of your puny fourth great war!_

_ Bitch!_

_ I leveled Konoha with a roundhouse kick!_

_ I wear a black belt on the beard,_

_ That I grow on my dick!_

_ I attack sharks,_

_ When I smell them bleed!_

_ I don't go swimming!_

_ Water just wants to be around me!_

_ My fists make the speed of light_

_ Wish that it was faster!_

_ You may know how to spit_

_ But Bee is all of rapping's master!" _

By the time he had finished reading he was clutching his sides and laughing uncontrollably, the others trying to suppress laughter at his reaction.

"What's so funny yo?" asked Bee.

"The Rokudaime whooped your ass in that battle hahahaha!" said Minato through laughter.

"What? Why would you spit such a lie! Didn't you hear me fool? We decided it was a tie!" Said Bee glaring at the youngest jinchuriki. At that point all the other jinchuriki burst into laughter as well, all having agreed with Minato from the beginning.

_**Dear Readers,**_

**Woooow it sure has been a while eh? I've been really busy this month and finally found the time to write this. And I know it is on the short side but I felt it was a good place to stop. I used a great deal of song lyrics from some of my favorite music and in the order that they appear they are from,**

**In for the Kill: By La Roux**

**Scatta (feat, Foreign Beggars and Bare Noize): by Skrillex**

**and the rap battle between Bee and Naruto was inspired by and modeled after the "Epic Rap Battle of History: #3 Abe Lincoln vs. Chuck Norris" by nicepeter. It is a youtube series look it up if you've never heard of it. Finally all the jinchuriki are introduced and we can take a peek back at Konoha in the next chapter to see how the girls are going to spend the month with Minato. As always please leave a review of your comments or reaction or criticism. Oh and to answer a question posted by "Just Another Reader" annonymously so that I couldn't PM him the answer, when Kakashi and Gaara called each other Kohai and Senpai they were sharing an inside joke with one another. The joke is that despite Kakashi's vastly greater experience Gaara has been a Kage for much longer than him and they have jokingly called each other by those honorifics ever since. Stay tuned for the next chapter where a few familiar faces make appearances. Till then stay out of the rain!**

_**Love,**_

_**Danthemanwithaplan7**_


	17. Chapter 16: Finding A Path

**I have been reborn! Risen from the ashes of pure despair and filled with hope and passion! Back from the dead people!**

I hope that all who read this find enjoyment in doing so.

Dedicated to my best friend.

I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. If anyone wishes to use my characters all they need do is ask and I'll almost assuredly allow it.

Chapter 16: Finding A Path

_Early in the morning in a certain house in Konohagakure no Sato…_

"Booooored!" whined the raven haired Uzumaki as she sat at the kitchen table, face pressed to the table surface in frustration. Akamaru whined at her misery and rubbed his nose at her elbow to encourage her to cheer up. "Not now Akamaru, I'm not in the mood." With a heavy sigh she brushed the massive canine away. Rejected he hung his head low as he padded back towards the family room where his partner was busy prepping their gear. He glances in at Kushina through the doorway and breathed a heavy sigh of frustration.

"Kushina you can't sit here all day you know. How about you go train?"

"There is nobody to train with." She replied, her voice muffled by the table and her hair. "You and uncle Shino are both leaving on missions this month, Shikamaru-sensei is giving Satsuki a little one-on-one training before he leaves for an important mission, and Satsuki said and I quote, 'I wouldn't spend the week training with you if you were the last kunoichi in the village.'" Kushina rolled her head to the side and gazed out the window as she continued. "Plus Minato is off… you know, figuring stuff out I guess…" Her god-father gave the back of her head a deeply sympathetic look as he finished preparing his gear. He put a hand to his scruffled chin for a moment as he thought, then inspiration struck and he cracked a wide grin.

"Say, why don't you visit your Aunt? I'm sure they will love having you over this month and would be more than happy to train with you."

Kushina simply blinked in surprise for a moment, not having thought of this option. Suddenly she shot upright in her seat with a wide grin on her face. "You're right Uncle Kiba! It's been forever since I paid them a visit and they had to miss my birthday party too. I'm going to go pack some overnight stuff and head over right now!" she ran up to the jonin and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "Love you Uncle Kiba! Good luck on your mission!"

"Love you too Kuku, see you in about a month." He then turned to his canine partner with a confident grin and said, "Let's go buddy." The canine barked in agreement and the two took off at a shadow blur towards the gates of the village.

_At a training field on the outskirts of the village…_

"Come on, step it up. You're way off form. No, no, no stop." An annoyed Shikamaru dragged his palm down his face in frustration. From where he stood he watched a panting and sweating Satsuki collapse on the ground in front of a training post. "Satsuki I'm gonna be honest, that was terrible. So troublesome…"

"Sorry *** **pant * sensei * pant * it's just not * pant * working for me." She rubbed her raw red knuckles and got out some tape to wrap them in. Shikamaru's eyebrows twitched in annoyance.

"That's what you said about the last four styles. Ugh, I need a smoke." He reached into a pocket on his jacket and pulled out a cigarette before lighting it with an old rusty lighter. He took a long drag and exhaled it slowly as the nicotine calmed his nerves. "Okay, okay. But we _Need_ to find a style for you. You've fallen far behind the others in taijutsu and the academy basic style you've used up till now is next to useless in real combat." Satsuki was surrounded by an aura of gloom and stared dejectedly at her feet.

"I know sensei, you've already said that. But these styles you want me to try, they just don't feel right."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and took another drag of the tobacco product. "Okay let's try this approach. What are your skills? What would you consider yourself best at in combat?" Satsuki sat and thought on the question in silence for a minute before turning to her sensei with her black eyes and saying,

"I'm good with wires! And, and I'm good with my yo-yo's. Ummmm, I'm good with my jutsu… Is there a style that uses ninjutsu in taijutsu?" Her eyes twinkled with hope and Shikamaru silently took a long slow drag before responding in a puff of smoke.

"No." Satsuki dropped her head in hopelessness. "Nobody in this village knows a style like that, there are some who know taijutsu techniques that resemble ninjutsu but nobody here actually incorporates any kind of ninjutsu in their basic taijutsu style." He scratched his soul patch as he thought further on it, his cigarette hanging in between his lips. "I suppose you can check the library but I can almost guarantee you won't find much. " He glanced at the shadow cast by the training post and gave a heavy sigh. "Time's up I'm afraid, I got places to be. Troublesome Kakashi sending me on a mission while I have genin to look after." He dropped what was left of the cigarette and put it out with his heel. "I'll be back as soon as I can but there is no telling how long this will take. Just give those styles another try and keep working on them." And with that he vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Satsuki glowered at the training post as she sat alone in the training field. "Stupid taijutsu. So hard, how am I supposed to keep track of the enemy and myself when we're so close to each other? It's just not fair, the others make it look so easy." She got up and punched the arm of the training post, causing the inner mechanism to activate and swing the low peg at her shin. "Ow! Dammit! Piece of junk!" She said as she hopped up and down on one leg while clutching her shin. "Ugh! Forget this! There has to be something at the library." She turned around abruptly and stormed off of the training field in a huff.

_On a street in Konoha…_

Her sandals clicked on the clean cobblestones that lined the clan district of Konoha. As she passed the various shops and homes that snuggled themselves between the high walls of the compounds various people would stop and wave at her.

"Hello princess how are you today?"

"Kushina-hime! Can I offer you some top quality kunai? I'll give you a special discount what do you say?"

"Oh the little darling she looks more like her mother every day. "

A large drop of sweat rolled down the side of her head as she grinned and bore the honorifics being showered upon her by the citizens of the district, no doubt trying to get on the good side of the person known to be on the fast track to restoring an entire dead clan. She had hurried along, her bag bumping against her back as she nearly ran towards her destination. Eventually she pulled away from the crowds and came onto the quietest street in Konoha, the street in front of the Hyuuga compound. She sighed in relief and casually sauntered up to the massive gate adorned in the trappings of wealth and bearing the pale flame that was the symbol of the noble clan. With a smile she began pounding on the gateway with the broad side of her fist at a steady rhythm.

After two minutes of continuous pounding a voice shouts from within, "I'm coming! Please stop knocking!" She stopped knocking and giggled to herself as she waited another minute before the gate finally swung open. Standing within was a young man with short brunette hair and pale white eyes wearing a formal kimono. "What on Earth do you…" he began but stopped short upon getting a good look at the visitor. His eyes shot open wide as dinner plates and he immediately fell into a deep bow. "Kushina-sama? W-what are you doing here? I had not heard you would be paying a visit to the compound. Please forgive my rudeness I was sitting down to lunch. Please come in, come in." He waved her along and she smiled at him as she stepped merrily into the compound boundaries.

"You didn't hear because I nobody knows. I'm coming for a surprise visit to my Aunt." She said with a chuckle. The man smiled nervously as a drop of sweat formed on his brow.

"Oh, I see. May I take your bag Kushina-sama? Will you be staying with us long? Should I prepare a room for you?" Kushina rolled her eyes and kept walking.

"I can carry my stuff, and I was hoping to spend the month here so do what you have to do." The man bowed quickly and skittered away after closing the gate.

As she walked through the halls of the Hyuuga compound towards the main ceremonial chamber the various servants and clansmen she passed all leapt in surprise at her unannounced arrival. She casually pushed open the grand doors of the ceremonial chamber without so much as a knock and flung her arms wide open.

"Auntie Hanabi! Surprise!" She was met with a low masculine chuckle. She opened her eyes and saw only one person in the room, a middle aged man with long flowing brunette hair and strong white eyes. He sat in a noble white robe at the head of the left head of the room next to an empty seat at the right head of the chamber. His hair was brushed so that his bare forehead was prominently displayed and he smiles softly at the genin.

"Hello Kushina-hime, this is a surprise. I was just about to sit down to tea with the clan elders, would you like to join us?" He gestured to the empty seat at the right head of the chamber and she could see that the room had indeed just been prepared for ceremonial tea, though the guests had yet to arrive.

She simply stuck her tongue out at him and closed her eyes tight. "Neh! Neji-sama how many times do I have to tell you? I'm not your clan's princess and I'm not the heir to the clan head. I'm an Uzumaki." The man smiled and gave her a knowing smile.

"Kushina, no matter how many times you say that it doesn't make it true. You are the daughter of Hanabi-sama's older sister and therefore are the rightful heir to the position of clan head, should you ever choose to accept it. So yes, you are a princess." He chuckled and winked at her before gesturing to the doorway behind himself. "If you're looking for Hanabi-sama she is in her quarters, she decided to let me deal with the elders today." Kushina flashed him a smile and quickly made her way to his side of the room.

"Thanks Neji-sama, the Hyuuga clan is lucky to have you." She gave him a quick hug before skipping off into the private section of the building. As she left the other doors swung open and the elders of the Hyuuga clan filed in to their seats.

"Neji, where is Hanabi-sama? We asked to meet with the clan head, not you." Gruffly grumbled one of the elderly men.

"Actually," interrupted an elderly man who bore a striking resemblance to Neji. "Under the new structure formed by the Rokudaime, as the clan Patriarch Neji-**sama** here has every right to take Hanabi-sama's place in this meeting should that be their decision. I know you did not forget that." The man who had complained grumbled incoherently to himself but made no open protest further. Neji gave a grateful nod to the man and said,

"Hiashi-sama you honor me. Now let us begin, what concerns do you bring today?"

"Aunt Hanabi! Auntie Hanabi, guess who?" Shouted Kushina as she raced through the decadent home of the head of the Hyuuga clan. She heard the sound of a shower running and a wicked grin spread across her face. She giggled to herself and began to creep towards the sound of the running water. She snickered to herself as she rounded a corner to see the silhouette of a woman through a shower curtain in a bathroom. She slowly creeped towards the doorway, ready to pounce upon her Aunt when suddenly the silhouette froze. Kushina froze in place as well, afraid she had been found out.

"How many times do I have to tell you…" hissed her Aunt. "NO PEEPING!" Out of the curtain flew a razor sharp kunai that embedded itself in the wall just behind Kushina's hiding place. Kushina's face twisted into terror as she cowered behind a wardrobe.

"What the hell! Kunai in the shower? That's just paranoid!" Shouted the wall back at her, greatly confusing Kushina. Then the distinct outline of a man appeared against the wall, though his front was painted to perfectly match the wood paneling behind him. Kushina's jaw dropped in astonishment at the man. Her aunt came hurtling out of the bathroom, a towel tucked around her luscious curves. Her long raven hair clung wet to her back as she approached the man with a katana.

"Get the hell out of my home you pervert! You'll not find any of your damn 'research' here!" She shouted as she swung the blade at the man, only to strike air as he vanished in a blur.

"Oh come on Hanabi! It's not like that! This is legitimate literary investigation. How else am I ever going to finally finish my book?" The man said from right behind her, his front still painted to match his former place against the wall.

"Screw your book and screw you! Get the hell off my land you bastard!" She swung around with the blade as he leapt back a few feet, tripping over the hiding Kushina in the process.

"Wha?"

"Ahh!"

The two tumbled to the ground in a heap as Hanabi stared in astonishment.

"Kushina? What are you doing here?" Kushina rubbed her head as she replied with a guilty smile,

"Trying to surprise you hehe. I'm here to spend the month." Hanabi clasped her hands together in glee.

"Oh that's wonderful, it will be so nice to have some quality family time." She then pointed her sword at the throat of the man also laying on the ground. "And you… get… out…" She growled.

"Alright, alright, I-" then he stopped and blinked blankly. "Wait a minute, Kushina?" He leapt up and stared down at the girl with white eyes. "Ahhh!" he shouted as he skittered out of the room in a hurry. Kushina stared blankly at the dust trail he kicked up in his haste, confused completely.

"Who was that and why is he afraid of me?" Her aunt laughed as she sheathed the katana in her hands.

"He isn't afraid of you sweetie, he is afraid of your uncles."

"Why? " she asked.

"Because they said if they ever caught him within fifty feet of you that they would remove him dangly parts." She laughed at the idea pleasantly.

"But my uncles are both out of the village right now…" said Kushina, still confused. Suddenly a screeching sound was heard from down the hall and suddenly the man came flying back into the room, clutching Kushina's hands excitedly and staring at her face with stars in his eyes.

"REALLY! They aren't here!" Kushina nodded blankly at the strange man painted like a wall. "Hurray! The day has finally come!" He scooped her up in his arms and darted out the door too quickly for Hanabi to catch him.

"Unhand her you fiend! Come back!" she shouted after the duo.

"I'll have her back for diner! Maybe! Actually, probably plan for next evening! Better make that Thursday in fact! BYE!" He shouted as he vaulted the wall surrounding the Hyuuga compound and disappeared across Konoha, with it's princess held tight in his arms.

_At the Library of Konohagakure no Sato…_

Satsuki sat in the midst of a mound of books, all lying half open and jumbled together. "Ugh! Nothing!" she shouted as she hurled another book into the pile. "Plenty of examples from other villages but nothing on how they do it!" She shouted as the book she had been reading fell open to the page she was at, showing a picture of the Raikage A. She sighed in frustration and buried her face in her hands. She sat that way for several minutes before slowly getting up, mumbling, "Maybe there is something in personnel files…" She dejectedly made her way over to the wall covered in declassified personnel files approved for scholarly study by the Hokage. She ran he finger along he stacks, over the uniform surface of the folders. Suddenly something caught her attention, a file that sat half off of the shelf. Curious she grabed it and pulled it out, dust being kicked up in the process. She blew more dust off of it and cracked the aged paper open. "Anko Mitarashi huh?" she skimmed the file and her mouth dropped open at the mission record. "300 A rank missions completed? Is that possible?" She then became interested and carefully read the file as she sat back down. "KIA, jonin, former missing-nin, this woman was amazing!" She then began to read about her combat style and slowly a smile crept across her face. "Perfect! But… it says it was lost… Huh?" she then read over the investigatory files, or in this case, lack thereof. "There is no record that they went through her belongings posthumously. I guess in the war and reconstruction it got forgotten." She narrowed in on her last known address. "Got it! Let's go on a treasure hunt." She said as she ran out of the library.

She ran through the streets of Konoha, an excited grin on her face. She sped past building after building and after about an hour the building suddenly became ruinous and dilapidated. She entered into an old district at the outskirts of Konoha, remnants from before the reconstruction. Carefully she followed the streets and read the addresses until she finally came to a small home, all the windows of which were boarded up. The roof was half collapsed and the door was missing entirely, but the address was clearly correct. "Here it is..."

_At a secluded training area, just outside Konoha…_

"Ow!" said Kushina as she was dumped on the ground by the strange man that had abducted her. "What's the big idea?" the man chuckled and raised his hands apologetically.

"Sorry, sorry, didn't hurt you did I?"

"N-no! But who are you?"

"My name," said the man as he struck a pose. "Is Konohamaru Sarutobi!"

**_Dear Readers,_**

**Hello, yes I am back and better than ever! This chapter is indeed short for such an epic return as this, but it seemed like the perfect place to stop for now. I'll make up for it by publishing another chapter very, VERY soon. In the mean time, submit a review! Add a comment! Send me an Original Character! I love you guys and I would not be back without all of your support! Thank you for your loyalties and I hope you liked it.**

_**Love,**_

_**Danthemanwithaplan7**_


	18. Not a chapter but a Farewell Instead

_**Dearest Readers,**_

_**Attention my beloved readers. It is with great regret that I must withdraw from author ship on this site as I have not the time in my ever shifting life to continue it. This is unfair to you all who love this series so I am placing it in the capable hands of my friend Hot Spot the 626th. He will adopt the series in my stead. I'm sorry to you all and it is with great regret that I must make this decision. Goodbye you wonderful people you.**_

_**With love one final time, Danthemanwithaplan7**_


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